Quarter Past Tuesday
by forensicsfan
Summary: NS. A strange conversation sets in motion something beyond their wildest dreams.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them. As always, I wouldn't mind having coffee with George and Jorja.

**Author's Note:** This idea may have been done before, but I thought I'd put my own spin on it. And I must admit that it came from an interview with George Eads where he mentioned that he and Jorja have a pact that if they're both still single when their 45, they'd 'consummate' their relationship. So it got me thinking about Nick and Sara.

* * *

Sara felt like and idiot for even suggesting the idea and judging from the way coffee was nearly snorted out of his nose, she was fairly certain that Nick agreed. Now here they were; an awkward silence enveloping them and no graceful way to crawl under the table or bolt for the door. 

As the sounds from the bustling coffee shop registered in Nick's ears with a whoosh, he realized that he probably ought to say something. His mouth was engaged before he could really process what was coming out of it. "Huh?"

The disbelief on Nick's face caused Sara's stomach to sink further into the floor. Why she had ever thought this was a good idea, she wasn't sure. Somehow saying the words out loud had allowed her to realize just how ludicrous her suggestion had been. Sara moved to stand up, her face a bit stricken. "I should go."

Nick reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back into the seat next to him. "Now hold up there for a minute. You drop something like this in my lap and you don't even give me a chance to respond?"

Sara regarded him a bit warily as she nervously nibbled her lower lip.

Nick tried to smile, but it came out as a sort of lopsided smirk. "When you said you had something important you wanted to talk to me about, this wasn't what I had in mind." He cleared his throat and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I'm still sort of stuck back at the part where you said you wanted to have sex with me."

The fact that he hadn't gone running out of the coffee shop finally started to sink into Sara's mind, but she was still preparing herself for rejection.

Nick gave Sara's hand a squeeze and his drawl seemed to be thicker than normal. "How long have you been thinking about this, Sar?" His head was still spinning with the proposition that she'd just made to him. It wasn't that he didn't find Sara attractive; he was extremely attracted to her; it was just the fact that when the time came for him to experience fatherhood, he'd envisioned the whole package; love, marriage, and the baby carriage. Having his coworker ask if he'd be willing to father a child with her wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"I should have known this was a bad idea." Sara let out a groan, referring to the Almighty in the process. She'd thought long and hard about the kind of man that she wanted for the father of her children, uh, child that is, and every road just led back to Nick. Unfortunately, she didn't think that he'd ever be willing to date her; she didn't think she was his type. So somehow in her mind she'd managed to reason that since they were friends, Nick seemed to love sex, and she wanted a baby; he would be happy to help her out and would be able to have some guilt free sex in the process. Somewhere in all of her mussing, logic had never kicked in that he might not see it that way.

"Bad idea?" Again the words were out of his mouth before he realized how they sounded. It was a good thing he was still holding onto her hand or he was sure she'd just bolt for the door. "I'm not really interested in being _just_ a sperm donor, Sar."

"I feel sick." And she did. Sick from exposing herself like that, sick from propositioning her friend like that, and sick from an overwhelming sense that Nick didn't think she was good enough for him.

From the look on her face, Nick wondered if Sara wasn't going to throw up right there, and he wasn't going to take a chance. "You wanna get some air?" He also thought that it might be wiser to have the rest of this conversation somewhere other than the middle of a busy Starbucks.

"I should go." She stood up and headed for the door wanting to get out of the building and away from Nick as quickly as possible so she could shrivel up and die from embarrassment in peace.

Nick let her go, scooping up their coffee cups and dumping them in the trash before sauntering out to the parking lot secure in the knowledge that Sara wasn't going to get too far. He found her standing next to his Denali gulping fresh air.

She had a sheepish smile on her face as she saw Nick dangling his keys. "I forgot...you drove."

Nick smiled back at her. "Sar, why don't we go somewhere and talk about this?" He wasn't outright rejecting her idea, but he had a counteroffer of his own and he reasoned that if she was bold enough to ask him to father her child, he could be bold enough to lay his own cards out on the table.

Sara started to ramble. "Look, I'm really sorry I brought this up...I made a mistake...you can't really ask your friend to help knock you up and then act like everything's normal." Right at that moment, she would have been content to have the ground swallow her up.

Nick unlocked the passenger door and nodded towards the inside of the vehicle. "Why don't you just get in and we'll go somewhere else and talk." He smirked. "Somewhere we don't have to compete with the sound of non-fat hazelnut lattes."

Sara let out a groan as she climbed into the SUV and steeled herself for what was coming next. She stared down at the hem of her shirt, playing at it with her fingertips, and wondered how she could have been so stupid.

Nick glanced at her as he slid behind the wheel. "Hey, I'd just like to point something out."

"What? That I'm the most relationally inept person you've ever known?" Sara's tone was self-depreciating and she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

Nick chuckled in spite of himself. "No, actually, I believe that honor is reserved for Grissom." He knew that comment would get a rise out of her and he wasn't disappointed as she snorted out a laugh.

"Ok, then I must come in a close second." She braved a glance at him, surprised to see him smiling and to find that it looked genuine.

"You're too hard on yourself." Nick headed towards Sara's apartment, hopeful that if she was in familiar territory she'd be more comfortable talking. "No, what I wanted to say was that I'm extremely flattered that you'd even think about wanting me...to...uh, well..." Nick's grin showed a little embarrassment as he paused for a moment. "Do you mind if I ask you why you feel like you need to do it this way? I mean don't you want to fall in love with someone and have a family?" He just couldn't fathom why Sara thought she had to go out and shop for a father.

"Well..." Her voice was tentative at first. "I'm not getting any younger...I really don't think I have a great track record when it comes to men...and as for falling in love...I'm not sure it's ever going to happen." She let out a frustrated sigh. "I shouldn't have brought this up...I'm sorry; this makes things pretty awkward."


	2. Chapter 2

"Why me, Sara?" Nick looked at her intently. They were sitting on her couch trying to act normal by sipping coffee Sara had felt the need to make the second they entered her apartment, but neither one of them really was very interested in the coffee.

Sara felt a blush color her cheeks as she realized that he had a very legitimate question and she really didn't know how to answer it without sound completely pathetic; something that she'd been feeling since she'd opened her mouth in the coffee shop and stuck her proverbial foot into it. "Uh..."

"I mean, you must have given this quite a bit of thought...If I were to help you have a baby, being the child's father; I'd naturally want to be part of his or her life...I'm sure that my parents would want to see their grandchild regularly and my brother and all five of my sisters would want the chance to see their niece or nephew. The baby would have sixteen cousins, and then there's my grandmother...I'm not really sure how I'd explain the whole situation to her...but I know she'd insist on coming out after the baby's born." He thought maybe it was a bit of overkill, but he wanted her to know exactly what she would be getting herself into if he gave in and let her use him.

Sara burst into tears; she'd been feeling overwhelmed and confused since she had proposed the whole idea to Nick in the first place. Burying her face in her hands, she curled in on herself and managed to choke out a few words. "You've made your point, Nick...you can go ahead and leave." All she wanted was to be left alone so she could wallow in how worthless she felt at that moment. She reasoned that Nick had just wanted to point out just how stupid she was and how he would never want her.

What she didn't expect to feel was the gentle touch of Nick's arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close and whispered softly. "I don't want to leave, Sar. I'm not going anywhere." He just held her as she cried knowing that after she calmed herself down, they were bound to have a much more rational conversation.

It took a little while, but once Sara had cried herself out, she pulled herself away from Nick and wiped at her eyes feeling a little better, but still far more vulnerable than she'd felt in a very long time. Her voice sounded so small. "Why don't you want to leave, Nick?" She wasn't sure she could handle any more humiliation.

Nick smiled softly at her, reaching over and brushing a bit of her hair off of her face with his fingertips. "I don't really think you want to have a baby with me, Sar. At least not like this." He shook his head to silence her as she looked like she was going to protest. "See I think you want what I want...I think you want to find someone who loves you more than anything else in the world, and I think if you have a baby, you're going to want it with him. I think you're selling yourself short thinking this is the only way."

Sara sniffled. "I must repulse you." She couldn't bring herself to look at him in the eyes; she didn't want to see the disappointment that she was sure was there.

Nick chuckled softly. "Sara, you don't repulse me...not even close." He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I feel like an idiot..." She let out a resigned sigh. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this...I don't need this getting around the lab." She wished more than anything that she could turn back time and take back everything that she'd said earlier.

"I'm not about to spread private information about you." He squeezed her hand again, gathering his own courage as he decided that now was as good a time as any to make a proposition of his own.

"Thanks...I'm not sure I could handle any more humiliation." She was looking down at the floor still not sure she wanted to look at Nick, but thankful for his presence all the same.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Nick looked at her expectantly, feeling the nerves in his stomach starting to churn.

"Yeah...I guess." She fully expected him to continue to quiz her about why she wanted a baby, and what had motivated her to ask him for help.

"What would you say if I asked you out?" He swallowed hard as he waited for her to respond. He'd wondered for a long time what she might say if he asked her on a date, but he'd never wanted to cross the line because he wasn't sure it was worth risking their friendship over. Now that she'd bulldozed right on over that line herself, he figured that it couldn't hurt to ask.

It took Sara a full second to register what he was saying and then she looked over at him with a sad smile on her face. "I'm really flattered; Nick...but I don't need a pity date. You really don't have to try and make me feel better." She did appreciate the gesture though; it seemed lately, no one had even made the effort. Even Greg didn't flirt with her very much anymore.

Nick chuckled softly, but the look on his face was completely serious. "I'm not asking you on a pity date."

"Oh." Sara felt immediately embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. "I..." She wasn't really sure what to say and so she fumbled along. "I shouldn't have assumed that you...especially after...I'm really sorry...I don't seem to be able to do anything right today."

"Hey." Nick nudged her with his elbow, smiling at how damn cute she was when she was embarrassed.

"Yeah." She felt her cheeks burning as she glanced over at him.

"I wasn't asking you on a pity date...I wanted to ask you on a real date." Nick hoped that he could convince her that he was serious; that his motivation for asking her out wasn't entirely because of what she'd asked him.

Sara looked a bit taken aback. "A date." Her tone reflected complete doubt. She wasn't sure what to think; she had so convinced herself that he would never be interested in her as anything other than a friend that to actually have him ask her out threw her for a bit of a loop.

"Yeah, a date." He smiled at her as a slightly sheepish expression crossed his face. "I've considered asking you out for a while, but I wasn't sure if you'd say yes."

Sara snorted out a laugh. "But since I pretty much admitted that I'd be willing to sleep with you, you thought I'd be a sure bet." Her words sounded harsher and far more accusatory than she'd intended, but it really had more to do with how she was feeling about herself than about Nick.

Nick looked crestfallen. "I didn't mean it like that, Sar." He felt hurt that she would think he'd take advantage of her like that. He truly was interested in her, but he didn't want to jump the gun and start out with a baby only to work their way backwards to find out how a real relationship between them might work out.

"I didn't mean for it to sound like that." Sara's tone softened and she was apologetic. "I guess I'm just really confused...I'm not sure what to think." She let out a deep sigh and noticed that Nick was still holding onto her hand. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards into a tiny smile.

"Don't think anything...I'm just asking you on a date...I'm not asking you to marry me...or to bear my children." He couldn't help but smirk a little at the last little bit as he squeezed her hand.

Sara chuckled softly. "Not like I did."

"Hey, I told you I was flattered." He grinned at her. "I just thought maybe we could start with one date and if that went well, we could try another...if it's a total bust then we haven't gotten in over our heads and we're still friends." Nick watched as a smile spread across Sara's face and he leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "And you never know...if it goes well...we might just end up with that happily ever after."


	3. Chapter 3

Sara felt like her head was spinning. Why she'd agreed to go on a date with Nick was a complete mystery to her. It was ironic really, how she'd had no problem propositioning him to help her get pregnant, but the idea of going on an actual date with him scared her half to death. She was seriously considering just telling him when she got to work that she'd changed her mind, but there was a part of her that just didn't want to. He had been right of course; she wanted everything that he'd said she did; she just had doubts that it would ever happen to her. But here he was offering the first step at a life she'd only dreamed of. The problem was that it came with no guarantees; the analytical side of her wanted to be able to quantify large amounts of data before she made a decision which was in direct opposition to her impulsive side; the side that she had blamed for all of her relational disasters. Wasn't going on a date with Nick impulsive and risky?

She let out a deep sigh as she scooped up her keys, slung her purse over her shoulder, and headed out of her apartment to go to work. She owed herself this chance at a date with Nick. He'd already made it pretty clear that he wasn't interested in becoming a father just because they were friends and she wanted a baby; but he'd also made it clear that it wasn't impossible either; she just had to be willing to take a chance and see if a romance between them would work. Was it too much to hope that everything she wanted would actually happen?

She was still lost in thought when she walked into the locker room to stow her purse. She had just opened her locker when Nick sauntered into the room. For a moment she felt a bolt of panic run through her as an irrational fear that Nick had only asked her out to make her feel better for making a complete fool out of herself until she saw his smile.

"Hey, Sar." Nick could not contain his grin. Despite the fact that after he'd left Sara's he was far too keyed up to get much sleep, he was full of energy and upon seeing her, his face seemed to have a mind of its own with that smile.

"Hey." Sara smiled back at him. There was something about Nick that she'd always appreciated; he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve and if he was faking it, she was pretty sure she could tell. The man was definitely glad to see her.

Nick cocked his head to the side a bit as he leaned his shoulder against his locker. "We still on for after shift?" He had made sure to solidify a time for their date; he knew that if he hadn't Sara would find some way to hem and haw to keep it from happening, stuck somewhere in the belief that he was only taking her out because he felt sorry for her; or worse, that he only wanted to take advantage of her. He knew that she knew him better than that; but a history with men that had helped reinforce her belief that she deserved to be treated like crap was something that was going to take time to change.

"Uh, yeah." She hoped that Nick wasn't having second thoughts; she wouldn't blame him if he was, especially after their last conversation.

If it was possible, Nick's grin got even wider. "Good. I've got just the thing then...and trust me, I think you're going to have a good time."

Sara eyed him for a long minute trying to decipher what this 'thing' was that Nick was referring to. She really hoped he didn't intend to take her out clubbing. That wasn't really her scene to begin with especially after her near DUI last year, and after what would most likely be a long shift, she didn't want to have to dress up to go wear herself out dancing and then drink enough to cloud her judgment further than it already had been in the last 24-hours.

As if reading her mind, Nick chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Sara, if it's safe enough for the average kindergartener, I'm pretty sure it's safe enough for you and I."

"Now you've really got me worried." Her smirk belied her words and she couldn't help but relax as she realized that of course Nick wouldn't drag her out to do something that he knew she'd hate. He knew her far better than that, and now she found that she really was looking forward to their date and was curious where he was taking her.

Nick found himself smirking back at her. "When was the last time you went to a pumpkin farm?" He had intended to surprise her with what they were going to do, but he was so excited to get to take her on a date that he couldn't contain himself, besides, they still had a long shift to get through and he wanted her to be thinking about how much fun they were going to have after the shift was over.

"A pumpkin farm?" Sara looked at him quizzically. Truth be told, she couldn't remember ever going to a pumpkin farm. Her childhood was less than idyllic and the last thing her parents had on their minds was hauling their bookish daughter off to a pumpkin farm just because that's what everyone else in Tamales Bay did with their children before Halloween.

Nick felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he pressed on, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I found out that there is actually one left in Vegas. It's an orchard really, but they grow pumpkins too and I thought we could go pick out a couple and take them over to my place and carve them." His expression was expectant as he waited for her to say something.

The look on his face made Sara giggle. "I can't say that I can remember the last time I carved a pumpkin." The idea of doing something so simple with Nick felt incredibly romantic and it just reinforced why she had thought that he would be a great father. Pushing that thought aside for the time being, she realized that regardless of how this date turned out, she would be more than willing to go on a second date with him.

"Well then it's settled." Nick reached over and touched the end of her nose in an affectionate gesture as an impish smile flitted across his face. "The first annual Nick versus Sara pumpkin carving contest is on." He was definitely baiting her, but he couldn't resist.

Sara scoffed. "First annual? You are _so_ going to lose." She was up to the challenge, even though it had been a long time since she'd even picked up a pumpkin, she was sure that Nick couldn't do any better than she was going to do. In fact she was already coming up with ideas of just what she was going to carve into her pumpkin; she was not about to carve any ordinary jack-o'-lantern.

"Oh, you think so, huh? That's what my sisters used to say before I'd win our family pumpkin carving contest every year." He looked a little too smug. He failed to mention that he won every year because he was the youngest and his oldest sister felt sorry for him and made everyone else vote for his pumpkin. Still, he was confident that his carving skills had come pretty far since the third grade.

Sara snickered at how overly confident he seemed. "Well, you're going down, because I am so going to kick your ass."

"You'll have to put up or shut up, Sidle." A smile was dancing in Nick's eyes; he was definitely looking forward to going out on this date, and from her reaction to what he'd planned, he could tell that she was too.

Sara had a mischievous grin on her face as she quipped back. "Oh, I intend to."


	4. Chapter 4

"Has it occurred to you that almost everyone else here is under four feet tall?" Sara couldn't help but notice as she and Nick walked through the pumpkin patch that it seemed to be full of kindergarten and preschool classes on field trips to pick out perfect little pumpkins.

Nick couldn't help but grin at her. "Ah, but how many of them are gonna want a pumpkin like that?" He pointed at quite possibly the largest pumpkin in the entire patch. It was easily 40 pounds and was a sort of lopsided lumpy blob of a pumpkin.

Sara giggled. "If you plan on getting any sleep before shift tonight, you might want to pick out a smaller pumpkin." She could just imagine the amount of time it would take to wrestle the pumpkin into Nick's rig and then scoop out the contents once they got to his house before he figured out how he wanted to carve it.

"Hey, I have a system." Nick eyed the pumpkin as all of the possibilities of just how he could carve it swirled in his mind.

"A system." Sara sounded skeptical and she snorted out a laugh.

"Yes." His sheepish grin gave way to a laugh and he moved towards her with a mischievous look in his eye. "I have years of experience picking out perfect pumpkins."

"Oh, really?" Sara smirked at him, noticing that he was standing rather close to her and enjoying every second of it. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly as if to issue some sort of challenge.

"Yeah, really." Nick tried to swallow his grin as he took another step towards her and then quickly ducked down and he grabbed her around the knees and hoisted her over his shoulder as she let out a yelp.

"Nick." Sara was giggling uncontrollably at how silly she felt. "I want down." She could tell that they were attracting attention.

"You want me to put you down?" Nick was tromping around the pumpkin patch gathering the stares of amused teachers and parents of the various school groups, entirely pleased with himself.

"Yes." Truth be told, Sara was thoroughly enjoying herself despite her protests to the contrary.

"I guess I should...I can't carry you and the pumpkin." His tone was full of exaggerated resignation and Nick knew he was asking for it as he set her down. "Even I'm not that strong."

"Are you saying that I'm heavy?" Sara arched a brow at him in amusement. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she couldn't stop smiling. She had always enjoyed flirting with Nick, but being on a date with him and being able to openly flirt knowing that this time there was something behind it was very nice.

Nick shook his head. "Now why would you get an idea like that?" He took in the expression on her face; the slightly pursed lips and the impish look in her eyes and thought he'd never seen her look more beautiful and full of life than at that moment. "I thought we clearly established that the _pumpkin_ was heavy."

Sara giggled. "Well if we don't get our pumpkins it won't matter how heavy they are...we won't have time to carve them." She was anxious to get on with their pumpkin carving contest so that she could show him that she had a few tricks up her sleeve and the idea of spending more time alone with him was something she'd looked forward to her entire shift.

"Well you haven't even picked one out yet." His tone was playful as he gestured towards the large pumpkin he had in mind to carve for himself. "I dare you to find one with as much personality as Mr. Lumpy over there."

Sara snickered; she wasn't sure why, but she couldn't stop laughing and Nick seemed to suffer from the same malady. "Well, since you claim to be such an expert, why don't you pick one out for me?" The challenge was out there and since Sara really didn't care what shape or size her pumpkin was, she thought it might be fun to let Nick decide which one she should carve.

What she hadn't counted on was Nick wanting to look at nearly every pumpkin they'd already looked at to see if it could 'match the caliber' of his pumpkin. Finally, she simply grabbed a rather symmetrical looking pumpkin and instructed him to go get his so they could pay for the pumpkins and head out to the SUV.

The sight of Nick carrying the pumpkin up to the cashier was pretty humorous. Rather than using a wheelbarrow, he'd insisted on carrying it and he resembled a large pregnant penguin the way he was waddling carefully so as to not step on any of the other pumpkins in the patch.

Sara had pulled her wallet out of her purse and was about to pay for her pumpkin when Nick stopped her with a gentle smile. "Hey, Sar, this is my treat...we're on a date, remember."

Sara felt her cheeks flush and a smile spread across her face as she realized that it had been a really long time since someone had made a point to let her know that she was special. This simple gesture of Nick buying her pumpkin had the strangest effect on her stomach as a flurry of butterflies seemed to swarm inside of it. "Yeah."

Nick deposited his pumpkin into a wheelbarrow and put Sara's in with it as he paid and then began pushing it towards his Denali. He glanced over at her as he felt her thread her arm through his and grinned with pleasure at just having her company. "I'm really glad I brought you here. This has been really fun."

"Yeah, it has been." There was a little bit of sadness mixed into her smile as Sara considered how much of her childhood she had missed out on by growing up in her family.

"Are you glad you came?" Nick caught the bit of hesitation in her tone and wondered if she was having second thoughts about their date.

Her smile widened as she let out a sigh. "Yeah, I am." She paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "I was just thinking how I don't think I ever got to do this as a kid. Thanks for bringing me here; this meant a lot to me." As they stopped in front of the SUV, Sara leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Nick couldn't help but grin. "I'm glad. Now what do you say we get these back to my house so we can carve them...I still have your ass to whoop at pumpkin carving."

As he opened up the back of the Denali to load the pumpkins in Sara smirked at him. "Put up or shut up, Nick."

"With pleasure, darlin'." Nick's drawl was as thick as his smile. And when he winked at her, Sara could have sworn that she felt that swarm of butterflies flying around her stomach again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the lapse in updating the story. I had a bit of a fender bender over the weekend with a very large 3-point buck (May he rest in peace along with my friend's van which was totaled). I on the other hand came out of the van with a nice case of whiplash and then promptly tripped and fell into a ditch filled with sticker bushes in the dark and sprained my foot.

* * *

"Well there are two schools of thought...old school is to cut into the top of the pumpkin and scoop the goop out...but I prefer the newer method of cutting a hole in the bottom." Nick explained as he began to cut into the bottom of his enormous pumpkin. 

Sara couldn't help but giggle at how serious he looked. "Ok, the bottom it is." She could definitely see the reasoning in doing it his way; it was much more efficient, the top wouldn't shrivel and fall into the carved out pumpkin, and most of all, she'd have that much more pumpkin to work with for what she had planned to carve.

Nick laughed heartily as Sara attacked her pumpkin with gusto. They were sitting at his dining room table, newspaper spread out, and knives in hand with a mixing bowl standing by to put the innards of the pumpkin into. By the time Nick was halfway through scooping out his pumpkin, he realized that he was going to need a second bowl.

Sara didn't notice the expression on Nick's face until she scooped out a glop of pumpkin goo and move to put it into the bowl and realized that Nick was staring at the overflowing mixing bowl wondering what else he had that was large enough to take care of the remaining pumpkin guts. She snorted out a laugh. "You know, it's too late to put it back if you've changed your mind...the pumpkin's already dead."

Nick looked at her for a fraction of a second until her smart ass comment sunk in and then he just grinned at her as he held a handful of goo up. "Oh, you're asking for it, Sidle."

Sara simply arched her brows in challenge. "_I'm_ asking for it?" She had half a mind to fling a bit of pumpkin and seeds at him; a thought that had crossed her mind a time or two since they'd started carving. She really didn't think he'd do anything; that is until the soft thwack of goo hit her cheek. Wide-eyed in disbelief, she paused for a brief second and then flung pumpkin back at him.

What had started out as an opportunity to flirt that Nick just couldn't resist turned into a full-fledged goo fight. By the time they stopped a few minutes later, there were pumpkin innards all over the dining room table, orangey splatters on the walls, and bits of glop all over Nick and Sara who had both dissolved into fits of giggles at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

Nick flashed Sara a sheepish smile as he realized that maybe this wasn't the best way to impress her to get a second date. "I probably shouldn't have done that." Despite the organic facial she was getting from the pumpkin, Nick thought she looked absolutely beautiful.

Sara was unsure of where to start to clean up the mess and she smirked back at him. "It's your house." She would definitely volunteer to help him clean, but he didn't look all that upset about the squishy mess on his hardwood floor.

Nick smiled. "I meant about getting it on you." He stepped towards her and then reached over and wiped a bit of pumpkin off of her cheek wondering to himself what she'd do if he just leaned in and kissed her right then.

Sara found herself grinning at him; perhaps it was because of the pumpkin matted into his hair, or perhaps because of his deep chocolate brown eyes that had a mischievous twinkle in them; whatever it was, she was having fabulous time. "It beats the smell from a decomp."

"Yeah, it does." Nick decided that he would always remember this moment and while it wasn't full of wine and candlelight, he couldn't have found a more romantic moment to slip his fingers into her hair and lean in to softly kiss her.

Sara felt butterflies surging in her stomach as she kissed Nick back and wondered to herself how she could have ever thought she could have had him father a child and not feel a damn thing romantically for him. She was lost in the kiss for a long moment and when they broke it off, she couldn't stop smiling. She was definitely feeling something romantic for the man in front of her.

Nick whispered a bit huskily. "I just couldn't resist how beautiful you looked." He had wanted to kiss her for a long time and the reality was far better than any fantasy he might have entertained about his coworker.

Sara snorted out a laugh as she realized that they were both still covered in pumpkin goo and she felt anything but beautiful, but she followed it up by leaning in and kissing Nick with a bit of gusto, snaking her arms around his neck as his found their way around her waist.

Nick chuckled as they broke the kiss. "So does that mean you'd go out with me again?" He didn't know why, but he felt a wad of nerves in his stomach as he waited for her to answer. He didn't want to assume that her response to his kiss was because she was feeling what he was feeling; she had propositioned him and there was a slight doubt in the back of his mind that if they took things too fast, he was going to become a father before he was ready and get his heart broken in the process.

There was something in Sara's voice that shattered Nick's doubt into a million pieces. "Yeah, I'll go out with you again." She was glowing as she looked back up into his eyes.

"You will?" Nick sounded surprised in spite of himself and he pulled her a little bit closer.

Sara giggled. "Did you think I was going to say no?" Nick always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve and she could see his insecurity a mile away.

"I didn't want to assume." Nick hoped that he wasn't so obvious with his fear and doubt that she'd pick right up on it. He wanted her to want to be with him because she cared for him, not because of what she ultimately wanted. She had been so hung up on Grissom for so long, that it was difficult for him to see that her feelings for him just might be genuine.

Sara smirked at him. "What does the evidence tell you?" She leaned in and kissed him again, smiling against his lips as she felt him do the same.

"I'd say that was a yes." Nick tried to swallow his smile with absolutely no success whatsoever as he pulled away. He glanced past her at the table with their half scooped pumpkins sitting on top of it and chortled out a laugh. "Maybe we should finish the first date though before we talk about the second."

Sara glanced over her shoulder and then back at him with a smug grin. "That's right, I still have to beat you at this pumpkin carving contest."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is my kitten MacGyver's commentary on Nick kissing Sara. I walk away from the keyboard after that sentence for just a minute and look what he does. Gbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm He has great promise as a writer don't you think? 


	6. Chapter 6

Nick had been so engrossed in carving his pumpkin that he hadn't really been paying attention to what Sara was carving into hers; although he'd stolen more than a few glances at her wondering why he'd been so stupid to not have asked her out sooner. Of course there had been the Grissom factor to consider; and then after he'd been abducted and buried alive, his confidence that she would have gone out with him out of anything other than pity had flagged a bit. But regardless of all that, he was glad that they were out now on what he hoped was the first of many dates. The fatigue he was going to feel later during shift was well worth it if what his gut was telling him was right.

Sara had hardly looked up from her pumpkin as she carefully and methodically carved. She could tell that Nick kept looking over at her, and she couldn't' help but smile as she recalled the kisses that they'd shared just a short time ago. Everything that had made her decide that Nick was the kind of man that would make a good dad, made her realize that he was also the kind of man that she should have been looking to date for years. If she'd been able to see what she really needed, she could have avoided the Hank disaster altogether and perhaps realized that although Grissom was a brilliant man; he was not the man for her.

Nick cut a few more tiny pieces of pumpkin flesh off of his pumpkin before he put his knife down and sat back with a satisfied grin to admire his work. "I think I've got you beat here, Sar." He was so completely confident that he had the superior pumpkin that he hadn't even glanced over to study Sara's now that his was finished.

She simply raised a single brow as she continued to carve away. "Oh, you think so, huh?" She was close to being done, but still had a few details that she wanted to carve into it before she turned it towards Nick so he could get the full effect.

"Yep, years of Stokes honor is on the line here." He had his arms crossed over his chest as he looked across the table at her. For the first time he actually looked at her pumpkin. As he did, his confident smile drooped a bit and his eyes widened. "What is that?" He wasn't sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing, and if he was, there was no question that his pumpkin hadn't even come close to the one Sara had carved.

Sara could hear the bewilderment in his voice and she glanced up at him and smiled softly. "What does it look like?" She looked at Nick with a hopeful expression that he could figure it out on his own.

"Whales." He narrowed his gaze as he studied it more closely. "Couple of different kinds." His grin widened as he looked up at her. "I didn't know you were so artistic."

"There's a lot you don't know." Sara felt herself blush before she cleared her throat and turned her attention back to her pumpkin, spinning it around so Nick could see the rest of it. Sara pointed out a few of the more obvious things that she'd carved. "There's a pair of Humpback whales, a pair of Orcas and some seals and porpoises."

"I think I'd better retire and warn my family not to take you on during pumpkin carving time." Nick was grinning like a fool at Sara. In the back of his mind, he'd be more than pleased to have the opportunity to have Sara around his family for that sort of event.

"So are you saying that I won?" Sara couldn't resist teasing Nick. She could tell from the look on his face that there was no question in his mind that she had.

"Did you win?" Nick snickered. "Sar, you not only kicked my ass, you cleaned up the floor with it. My mean looking cat here can't even compete." He spun his own pumpkin around to reveal a rather menacing looking cat with an arched back.

"It's very Halloweeny." Sara offered as she took in the precision and clean lines that he'd carved into his gigantic pumpkin.

Nick grinned at her. "Well, thanks, but you still won."

"What did I win?" The thought occurred to Sara that while Nick had indicated that they were going to have a contest, he never did specify if there was a prize involved.

Nick gave her a thoughtful smile. "Uh, I guess I didn't really think about that...but I know if I had been the one to win...I wouldn't mind kissing you again." He wiggled his eyebrows at her to help reinforce his point.

Sara giggled. "I'll keep that in mind if we have a rematch." She really wouldn't have minded kissing Nick again, but she was having fun relishing in beating him at something he'd been so confident in winning that stringing him along for a little while sounded like a good idea to her.

Properly chagrinned, Nick smirked at her. "Well I seem to be fresh out of pumpkins." Given that pumpkin innards were still clinging to their clothes and that the walls and floors still weren't completely clean from their pumpkin fight earlier that was probably a good thing.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until next year for that rematch then." Sara smirked back at him a bit impishly. She had no intention of waiting that long to kiss Nick again, especially since he seemed rather eager to kiss her.

Nick just chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "A whole year, Sidle, do you think you can wait that long?" He knew he couldn't wait that long. He wanted to spend some quality time kissing her again before the end of their date; which based on the time displayed on his watch was going to have to be soon if either of them were going to get much sleep before shift.

"I can, but I'm not sure you can." She was openly grinning at him; thoroughly enjoying this flirty banter going back and forth between them. She really didn't want the date to end, but she also knew that despite her brazen request, she really wasn't ready for things between them to get too physical too early if they wanted to see if a real romance between them would work.

Nick laughed and then smiled at her as his eyes seemed to caress her face. "I could, but I don't really want to." He really didn't see a point at beating around the bush; he'd known Sara for a long time and he wanted to see where things between them might really go if given the chance.

Her grin widened and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "I don't really want to either." She pulled herself up from where she was sitting and moved around to the side of the table he was sitting on. "But since I'm the one who won...I think you need to kiss me."

Nick tried to swallow a smile without much success and then reached out for her hand, pulling her to sit in his lap. "I think I can accommodate that." He leaned in and softly kissed her, smiling against her lips as he felt her arms slide around his neck.


	7. Chapter 7

"So I hear Nick has a new girlfriend." Greg looked rather smug with the information he was sharing with Sara as he walked into the locker room to find her getting her things together for shift.

Sara felt a fluttering in her stomach as she glanced up at Greg, hoping that her smile didn't give her away. She and Nick hadn't talked about dating exclusively, they'd set up a second date, but if Greg was spreading the news that Nick had a girlfriend his feelings were obviously more serious than she realized. She arched her brows at Greg, not willing to give up any more information than he already had. "Oh?"

Greg grinned and spoke conspiratorially. "Yeah, I think he must be pretty serious about her too."

Sara smirked. "Serious, huh?" She surmised that Greg was taking a more subtle approach to get her to give him details, something that she really didn't want to do just yet. She wanted to clarify where Greg got his information and what exactly he knew.

"Well, I overheard him talking on the phone making plans to see her this weekend; and he used the 'L' word before he hung up." Greg gave her one of those looks that sort of said 'see what I mean?'

Sara looked at him quizzically. Nick had definitely not told her that he loved her, and she hadn't talked to him since their date after last shift. The only other 'L' word that she could think of would completely disqualify Nick as a love interest for whomever he was talking with on the phone. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, but tried to squelch it as she realized that they had made no commitment to each other; Nick was free to date whoever he wanted. She just suddenly wished that she was the only one he wanted to date.

"Earth to Sara." Greg looked at her oddly.

She swallowed hard and put her best smile on her face. "What 'L' word were you referring to?" She seriously needed to deflect this situation with a little bit of humor before she began to have a meltdown in front of Greg.

Greg smiled back not quick tuning into the inner conflict his friend was having just then. "Love." He let out a chuckle before stepping a bit closer to Sara and whispering loudly. "I think her name's Natalie or Fiona or something like that."

Both names sounded vaguely familiar to Sara and she wondered why she knew they were connected to Nick. Despite her smile, she felt sick. "Oh?" She wasn't sure she wanted to bring this little bit of information to Nick's attention; she was sure she would sound far too desperate, not that she hadn't already appeared that way with her proposition.

"He doesn't know that I know...so don't say anything, ok?" Greg grinned at her, glad to have a secret to share with Sara. He'd enjoyed working with her, getting schooled by her rather during his first year as a CSI, and he'd come to consider her a good friend.

"Uh, sure." She saw no reason to tell Nick what she'd learned, but it left her feeling unsettled after such a completely perfect first date. She turned her attention back to her locker in hopes that Greg would get his things quickly and leave so that she could have a moment by herself.

"Thanks." He nudged her with his elbow. "I'm going to brew a fresh pot of Blue Hawaiian; I'll see you in the break room?" He arched a brow expectantly.

"Yeah." Sara didn't bother to turn around, and she let out a sigh of relief as she heard Greg's footfalls get softer. She sat down on the bench and just stared straight ahead wondering if she had been too hopeful that Nick really was as interested in her as he appeared to be when they were sharing some pretty intense kisses on his couch after they'd carved pumpkins.

She secretly hoped that she wouldn't see Nick that night; despite the fact that they were supposed to go on a date after shift. She could find a reason to work more hours and put him off. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so jealous all of a sudden; Nick wasn't hers. But she wanted him to be.

Sara was surprised to find herself tearing up. _Get a grip Sidle, you have an entire shift to get through; you cannot have a breakdown before it even starts._ She was gathering her resolved to head to the break room to take Greg up on that offer for coffee when she heard someone walk into the room.

"Hey, darlin'." The grin was readily apparent in Nick's voice as he sauntered over to where she was and sat down next to her before nudging her in the side. "So, I was thinking if you're not busy on Saturday..." Nick had a mischievous tone in his voice, but as he looked at her, he could tell that something wasn't quite right. "What's wrong?" His brows furrowed as he realized her eyes looked a little misty.

"Uh, nothing." She knew that he would be able to tell she was lying, but she wasn't really sure what else to do.

Nick slung his arm over her shoulder and gave her a quick hug. "You sure? You don't seem ok?" A thought occurred to him that maybe just maybe the date hadn't gone quite as well as he'd thought.

"I'm just tired." Sara smiled in spite of the turmoil she was feeling; she reasoned that after she'd had time to process the information Greg had given her, she'd know what to do about Nick.

Nick smiled at her sheepishly. "I guess we did stay up a bit too long." And he'd enjoyed every minute of it.

"Yeah, I guess we did." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she glanced at her locker again. Was it too much to hope that any man would want her?

"So I was thinking if you're not busy on Saturday, there's someone I want you to meet...two someones that is." Nick looked at her expectantly and he felt a ball of nerves unfurl in the pit of his stomach as Sara looked less enthusiastic than he'd hoped.

"Uh, I'm really not sure what I'm doing on Saturday." In the back of her mind she reasoned that there were plenty of crimes committed on the weekend and she could certainly find a reason to be working.

Nick sounded too eager in his own ears as his stomach started to churn. "It's just that Natalie and Fiona are only in town this weekend, and I was really hoping that you could meet them...that they could meet you really."

Sara felt as if she'd been kicked in the gut as she realized that Greg was telling the truth; whoever these women were, Nick was in love with one of them. "Natalie? Fiona?" She could have sworn that if she'd tried to stand just then that she would have passed out.

"I haven't seen my sister since last Thanksgiving and well, Fiona is five now and I really want to spend some time with her; but I really want to spend some time with you too." Nick furrowed his brow at Sara as he realized she looked a little pale. "Are you sure you're ok?"

As the word 'sister' sank into Sara's mind, a tiny smile spread across her face. Of course Nick would tell his sister that he loved her; it all made sense now, only Greg was the one that had gotten it wrong. Sara turned to look at Nick and her smile widened. "I'm ok, good really...never better actually, well at least I will be after I've had a cup of Greg's coffee."

"I thought I smelled some of his brew." Nick couldn't help but look at Sara and notice the curve of her lips and the gap in her front teeth. "So do you want to think about Saturday then?"

Sara felt relief wash over her and a flutter in her stomach as Nick reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'd love to meet them, Nick."

**Author's Note:** I couldn't resist giving out a little bit of torture, and reviving two of my favorite characters from "La Vida Loca" and "Pura Vida". (Although this story is not a sequel to either of those.)


	8. Chapter 8

"Sanders seems to think you've got a new girlfriend." Warrick looked over at Nick skeptically as he drove back to the lab from the crime scene they had spent the last several hours processing. He was certain that if Nick was seeing someone, he would have heard about it well before Greg Sanders.

Nick looked guilty as hell and tried to swallow a grin as he arched his brows in an attempt to look surprised at Warrick's comment. "He told you that?" He wasn't sure how Greg could have known about his date with Sara in the first place, besides the fact that he and Sara hadn't talked about seeing each other exclusively, but he was pretty damn sure after their first date that he didn't want to see anyone else. He only hoped that she felt the same way.

Warrick quirked his brow as he read Nick's expression like a tabloid in the check out line. "You're seeing someone since when?" He knew that since he'd married Tina, he hadn't had as much time to hang out with Nick outside of work; but he was surprised that what Greg had told him was true.

Nick let out a soft chuckle as he considered that Sara must have said something to Greg and it made him feel pretty good that she was comfortable enough with the idea of them as a couple to mention it to Greg knowing that it would spread like wildfire around the lab.

"So is her name Natalie or Fiona? Sanders didn't seem to be too clear about that." Warrick's tone implied that Nick had better start spilling details and quick.

Nick snorted out a cough in surprise and looked at Warrick as if he had just grown a third ear. "Neither." It was clear that Greg hadn't talked to Sara; he'd over heard his phone conversation to his sister when he'd been making plans for the upcoming weekend.

"Neither." Warrick deadpanned as he glanced over at his friend. He clearly wasn't buying it.

Nick laughed at the ridiculous idea. "Natalie is my sister, and Fiona's my five year old niece. They're coming up from Dallas this weekend and he must have heard me talking to them on my cell phone." The thought occurred to him that no one probably even knew that he and Sara had gone on a date, or that they had another one right after shift was over. The thought of that second date brought a telling smile to Nick's face.

A perceptive Warrick honed right in on Nick's smile. "So who _are_ you seeing and why haven't I heard about her?" Nick had never been one to keep his social life with the ladies a secret from Warrick, so he was sure that it wasn't going to be that difficult to get information out of him.

"We've been on one date...it's not exactly dating...yet." Nick couldn't stop the satisfied grin from spreading a bit wider on his face. He was excited to introduce Sara to his sister and he hoped that by the time the week was over that Sara would officially be his girlfriend.

"Yet." Warrick gave him a careful glance. It had been a while since he had seen his friend this excited about a woman and he hoped that he wasn't setting himself up for a fall. All of them had become a bit more protective of Nick since he'd been buried alive, and Warrick was sure that he was the most protective of all. He wasn't sure if that was a sign of true friendship or of trying to absolve himself of the guilt he couldn't let go of.

"We have another date after shift." Nick was still unsure what that date was going to consist of, but he didn't really care; spending time with Sara was enough.

The dopey look on Nick's face just made Warrick impatient. "Are you going to tell me who this mystery woman is?"

"Sara." Nick grinned even wider.

"Sara." Warrick sounded doubtful. It was no surprise to him that Nick was interested in her, what he was surprised about was that she had agreed to go out with him.

"Yeah Sara." Nick regarded Warrick with a smug expression. "We happened to have had a very good first date."

Warrick felt a rush of protectiveness, not just for Sara, but for Nick too. It was common knowledge that Sara had harbored feelings for Gil Grissom for a long time and Warrick wasn't completely convinced that one date with Nick was enough for that to fade into history. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Nick looked at Warrick quizzically. "Excuse me?" Nick was a bit taken aback at Warrick's response.

"You work together." Warrick arched his brow at Nick. "Have you thought about what would happen if she's not as into you as you seem to be about her?" He knew he had a valid concern; that was one of the biggest reasons that he'd never pursued Catherine even though there had been sparks between them for years; he was sure that was also one of the biggest reasons that Grissom had never pursued Sara.

Nick wasn't about to tell Warrick about how Sara had propositioned him; that was a secret that he'd take to his grave. He leveled a serious gaze at Warrick. "I think it's worth the risk to find out. Life's just too damn short not to."

Warrick nodded in understanding. "Yeah." His rationale for marrying Tina as quickly as he did had everything to do with the frailty of life. He certainly couldn't fault Nick for acting on feelings for their coworker, especially given the fact that he'd stared death in the face and came out on top.

"Besides, you've been giving me hell for a long time about getting my act together to ask her out." Nick was grinning as he let out a laugh.

"I never thought you'd do it." Warrick couldn't resist jabbing back. Competition was an integral part of their friendship and after Nick had ribbed him mercilessly for eloping, it was time for a little payback, especially because the woman in question was Sara.

"Never say never, man." Nick looked rather pleased with himself as he glanced over at Warrick again.

"Just be careful, ok?" Warrick wasn't sure if he was warning Nick not to hurt Sara, or not to get his hopes up too high that she was it for him. What kind of friend would he be if he didn't show concern?

"I don't think you need to worry about me and Sara." Nick grinned again, this time with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I think you need to worry more about helping me figure out how to mess with Sander's mind for listening to my phone calls...how could he think I was dating my sister?"

**

* * *

Author's Note:** Thanks for all your patience as I post these chapters far slower than I'd like to be. And thanks for all the kind thoughts from everyone with regards to my accident. Getting better, slower than I'd like, but I'll get there eventually. 


	9. Chapter 9

Sara was hunched over a layout table sorting through evidence from the case she'd been working all night. There was very little from what she had found that gave her any more clues than what was obvious at the crime scene and it was apparent that unless DNA or trace turned up something, there wasn't much she was going to be able to do. She sat back in her seat, letting out a deep sigh as she realized that she'd developed a bit of a kink in her neck. She could almost hear someone smiling and as she glanced up at the doorway she wasn't at all surprised to find Nick standing there looking at her with an impish smile on his face. She smirked. "How long have you been standing there?"

He chuckled softly and as he spoke his drawl was a little more pronounced than normal. "Not very long but long enough to know that you look like you need a break."

She knew that he meant taking a break from work, but what she really wanted was a break in her case. Her smile was a bit tired. "There is nothing here...nothing that can help me make any headway."

Nick knew she was frustrated; he'd seen her like this more times than he could count and he knew that she'd probably sit here until well past the end of shift searching for something just to find an answer. "What did the autopsy say?"

Sara shook her head and frowned. "The morgue is backed up so I won't know anything definitive for a while." She looked at Nick and couldn't help but smile. "How's your case?"

"'Bout the same as yours, trace and DNA are backed up too, so there isn't much to do for the moment." Nick looked rather excited at that prospect. "Want to go grab some coffee...or maybe go play a round of miniature golf?" He had learned that there was a miniature golf course in Vegas that was open all the time.

Sara snorted out a laugh at the golf comment. "It's three in the morning; I think I'll settle for the coffee." Her brow furrowed momentarily though. "Although I think Greg said something about being out of Blue Hawaiian." The last thing she wanted was the swill that the department sprung for and tried to label coffee.

Nick's smile blossomed into a full-fledged grin. "Starbucks never runs out of coffee...I was sort of thinking we could go out and grab some." He was frustrated about the lack of progress in his own case, but it served to give him an excuse to spend a little time with Sara in the middle of shift and there was no way he was going to be unhappy about that.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Sara let out a slight yawn and smiled. "Maybe when we get back one of us will have something useful for our cases." She slid off of the chair and walked over to where he was standing, her lips twitching up at the corners at the way he was smiling at her. Part of her just wanted to kiss him and part of her knew that it wasn't a good idea to get into a habit of that at work; especially since they'd only had one date so far. She still wasn't sure where this thing was going or if Nick was interested in going the direction that her heart had been pulling in for probably longer than she wanted to admit; even taking into consideration her obsession with Grissom. It was funny that she should think of Grissom just then; she had known deep down that a romantic relationship between them would never work, but she was competitive and somewhere in her screwed up thinking she felt like she had to win his affection to win. She hadn't really considered that what she needed was someone that really wanted her; someone who had the backbone to pursue her and let her know that she was worth it. She was willing to entertain the possibility that Nick might just be that man.

"...but it really is open twenty-four hours so I was thinking that we should go there sometime." Nick had been talking about something and he was smiling, not quite catching on to the fact that Sara had zoned out.

"Twenty-four hours, huh?" She hoped that he might give her some clue as to what he was talking about without having to admit that she hadn't heard what he'd said.

Nick just grinned, his hand drifting to the small of her back as they made their way down the halls of the lab towards the locker room so Sara could stow her lab coat. "Only in Vegas." He let out a soft chuckle. "Maybe we could go some night when we're both not working...that is if miniature golf sounds like something you'd like."

Sara looked at him a bit incredulously; he seemed to be talking far beyond another date and her heart skipped a beat as she considered that maybe he was feeling at least a little bit of what she was feeling. "Yeah, that sounds fun." She couldn't remember actually ever taking the time to play miniature golf; and the thought of regular golf did nothing to excite her, but spending time with Nick did.

They rounded the corner into the locker room and as Sara hung up her lab coat, Nick couldn't help but watch her. Sara glanced up at him and snickered at the expression that flitted across his face at getting caught. "You know, you're starting to make a habit out of that..." She wanted to say that it also made her feel a little strange being stared at.

"I couldn't help myself." Nick wasn't at all ashamed of being caught looking; it gave him the lead in he'd been wanting to talk about what he was feeling and it seemed that there was no time like the present while Sara seemed to be fixated on something at the back of her locker just before she pulled her purse out and closed the locker door. Nick cleared his throat. "Sar?"

She glanced up at him and noticed a look that she couldn't quite place. "Yeah?" There was a nervous intensity to his gaze and she felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach.

Nick felt more like a sixteen year old than a grown man at that moment and he let out a nervous laugh, taking a step towards her. "I had a really good time on our date yesterday..."

"I did too." Sara sincerely hoped that he did not want to have a serious conversation right in the middle of the locker room. As much as she was curious about how he was really feeling about her; a coffee shop seemed a far more appropriate place to talk, she'd even settle for the interior of a Denali.

Nick reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear wanting very much to lean in and steal a kiss; he settled for a grin instead. "And I'm looking forward to going out again after shift." He wasn't sure why it was so hard to get the words out; why he couldn't just tell her that he didn't just want to take her on dates; he wanted to date her.

Sara realized that a serious conversation was exactly what he had in mind, and she furrowed her brow, her lips pursing together as she cleared her throat and took a step back looking him straight in the eyes. Nick's expression faltered for a moment until Sara forced a smile and said something. "Look, Nick...I'm really looking forward to spending time with you too...but I really don't want to talk about this..." she fumbled with her words for a moment "...here that is."

A sort of half smile flashed across Nick's face as the sounds from the bustle of people in the hallway filtered in. "Yeah...sorry."

Sara shook her head, smiling. "Don't be...I just feel like the walls have ears sometimes." She knew that fact all too well. It seemed that every time she had made a fool of herself over Grissom in front of Grissom word had spread like wildfire around the lab and she knew Gil Grissom well enough to know he would have been the last person to share the information. She didn't want whatever was going on between her and Nick reduced to gossip around the lab until she knew where things were headed.

"Ain't that the truth?" Nick nodded in understanding; there had been plenty of talk about him and his life over the years; it seemed the more personal the information, the faster it spread. He cared about Sara and he didn't want people to think that she was just another girl to him; and he certainly didn't want _her_ to think that she was just another girl in a long line thanks to the over inflated reputation of being a ladies man that Greg Sanders had helped to create.

Sara smiled at him, certain that she'd get a kiss out of him somewhere in this little outing. She arched her brows at him and spoke in a conspiratorial tone as she threaded her arm through his and propelled him towards the doorway. "Now it seems to me that someone suggested going to Starbucks."


	10. Chapter 10

"Did someone say Starbucks?" A bleary-eyed Greg Sanders just happened to stagger into the locker room just as Nick and Sara were on their way out. He was on his second shift after not getting very much sleep and his Blue Hawaiian coffee was long since gone.

"Uh, yeah...we we're just gonna take a break and go out for some coffee." Nick didn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that he wanted to go to Starbucks alone with Sara in front of Greg; he still had half a mind to find a way to torture him for overhearing his cell phone conversation and then jumping to conclusions.

"Great. I'm dying for a good cup of coffee and everything is backed up so I won't have any results for a while." Greg was clearly inviting himself along; something that he'd done numerous times and he had no reason to think that this time his company wouldn't be as welcome as it had been all the other times.

Sara glanced over at Nick briefly; she really didn't want to talk about what she thought Nick wanted to talk about; she needed to be able to keep her mind focused on work until the shift was over and then she'd allow herself the luxury of focusing on Nick. Greg was the perfect excuse to put off that little conversation, but truth be told, that also probably meant that she'd have to wait until after shift to kiss him again. Maybe that talk was worth the kiss. "Uh, Greg...why don't you try and grab a nap...Nick and I can bring you back some coffee."

Nick tried to restrain his smile; Sara's idea was of course genius. "Yeah, man, you look terrible. Little bit of shut eye'll do you wonders." He hoped his tone sounded subtle enough so that Greg didn't clue into the fact that he and Sara wanted to be alone. Until he'd had a chance to talk with Sara about the fact that he wanted to date her; he didn't need Greg knowing that they'd been on a date. Greg was certainly a good guy, but he had a tendency to be a bit of a motor mouth.

"The break room couch is pretty comfy." Sara smiled at the lab tech turned CSI; she knew full well how comfortable that couch was because of everyone in the lab, she'd probably spent more time taking cat naps on it than anyone else.

Greg let out a yawn. "Yeah...that sounds good." He only hoped that a nap and a cup of coffee would be enough to him get through the shift. He had been working with Grissom on a case and the thing about Grissom was that he got so tunnel visioned that he didn't notice when it was time to take a break.

"You want it black or do you want a latte?" Sara could feel Nick's arm brushing against hers and a smile flitted across her face as she quizzed Greg.

"Black is fine...thanks." Greg let out another yawn and then turned and headed towards the break room.

Nick whispered conspiratorially to Sara. "Nice footwork there, Sar." He wanted to make it clear to her that he was looking forward to spending a little bit of time alone with her and that he appreciated that she'd been able to get Greg to stay behind without having to be blunt with him and tell him that they wanted to be alone.

Sara smiled, but before she had a chance to say anything back to Nick, Grissom intercepted them in the hallway with a rather harried expression on his face.

"You're going on a coffee run?" It wasn't really a question, but more of a statement to confirm what he'd learned from Greg. "I take my coffee black." Grissom looked at Nick and Sara expectantly.

"Ok." Sara answered without skipping a beat. She figured that the lack of Greg's special blend of coffee coupled with a busy shift and a backlog in all of the lab tech queues was making for a bunch of tired and potentially cranky lab staff. "We'll bring back enough for everyone."

"Great." Without another word, Grissom turned on his heels and went back in the direction he came from.

Nick snickered. "That's gonna be one hell of a lot of cup holders, Sar." He wondered if she'd really thought about just how many people in the lab would be clamoring for coffee once they got back.

She smirked at him and bumped her hip against his. "I happen to know that we can get enough for everyone in disposable dispensers...but we might have to wait a little while." She glanced at him over her shoulder and arched a single brow as she sauntered towards the front doors of the lab.

Nick purposely walked a little bit behind her so he could watch the little sway in her hips. He'd be more than happy to pick up coffee for the entire LVPD if it meant he could spend a little extra time with Sara. He figured they could order the coffee and then maybe go back out to the Denali and make out a little bit; that is if their talk went well. He made a mental note that he really needed to watch himself. He did not want to take the same tactics with Sara that he had with every other woman that he'd been interested in. There seemed to him to be a lot more at stake in wanting to date her.

They reached his Denali and Sara turned to face him. "Look, I think I know what you have on your mind..."

Nick hadn't planned on talking to her about this in the parking lot, but if this was the time, then this was the time. "You do, huh?" He opened the passenger door for her and waited as she climbed in.

A seed of doubt sprouted in her mind that she actually did know what he was going to say and she just smiled at him as he closed her door and then loped around to the other side of the SUV and climbed behind the wheel. She glanced over at him as he slid the key into the ignition. "I think I do."

"Ah, so now you only think you know." Nick could tell she was a little flustered and he really had no intention of stringing her along. However, given that she didn't want to have this conversation in the locker room, he thought it was a good idea if they didn't have it in the parking lot of CSI either. He turned the vehicle out of the parking lot and headed towards the closest Starbucks.

Sara cleared her throat a bit nervously. "I just felt like you wanted to have a serious conversation." She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that perhaps she had been mistaken.

Nick reached over the console and gathered her hand up in his, giving it a soft squeeze. "I do...I just thought we should get away from the lab after what you said in the locker room."

"Yeah." The feel of Nick's hand holding onto hers was distracting. Again she really didn't understand how she could have thought that asking him to father a child for her would have been a good idea. She had found that her emotions were far more involved than she wanted to admit and even though Nick was giving every indication that he was interested in her; she was still afraid of getting hurt.

Nick smiled at her. "I had fun with you on our date, a lot actually, and I was just thinking that maybe just going on dates isn't enough." He hoped that this was enough of a lead in for what he wanted to ask her.

The first thing that ran through Sara's mind after what he'd said was that he just wanted to sleep with her and she felt a wave of disappointment which came out in her tone of voice. "Oh."

Nick realized that somehow he'd said something wrong, only he wasn't sure exactly what that was. He thought that maybe he should just spit it all out and then see if she understood. "I don't want to keep taking you out on dates...unless we're dating each other exclusively that is...I don't know if I could handle you seeing another guy while you're seeing me...I know this is a little soon since we've only been out once...ah, but we've known each other for years...I feel like...well, I know that I want to be with you." He glanced over at her to gauge her reaction as he pulled into a parking spot at Starbucks. "But I understand if this is moving too quick...we can go slow."

Sara really wasn't sure what to say to that so she did the next best thing; she leaned over the console and kissed him. Her voice was a little husky as she pulled away. "I don't think I want you seeing anyone else either."

"Not a chance, Sara." Nick grinned at her and then leaned in to kiss her again.


	11. Chapter 11

"Nick...the coffee." Sara mumbled against his lips as they traded slow deep kisses. They had managed to actually go inside the Starbucks and order several cardboard carafes of coffee to take back to the lab before coming back out to the Denali and getting rather involved in kissing each other.

"Mmm, we have time..." He wasn't sure if that was true, but at the moment, he really didn't care. He knew that if they got results back from either of their cases that they'd be paged, and he also knew that if anyone wondered why they'd been gone so long that they could blame it on the barista at Starbucks who said it would take them at least half an hour to get the carafes together for them.

"We should check..." Sara would have loved nothing better than to sit there the rest of the night kissing Nick, but she also knew that she couldn't afford to lose her focus on work while they were on the clock. This was something they were going to have to talk about because she really didn't want to be making out with him in every deserted corner of the lab; well, she did, but then there were their jobs to consider. They really needed to establish some ground rules before things got out of hand. She pulled away, finding that Nick just followed on after her and after another rather mind numbing kiss, she pushed him away. "Nick, we can't..."

Nick had a dazed expression on his face; he had dreamed of dating Sara for longer than he would admit even if Warrick pressed him on it. He tried to clear his foggy mind. "Can't what?"

Sara smiled at him and cleared her throat; her voice was still a little husky as she spoke. "We can't get into the habit of doing this while we're on duty..." Her words trailed off as she realized that she this was exactly what she'd intended to happen as she'd cast a glance over her shoulder at him when they left the lab. She needed to make it clear she wasn't blaming him; that she was just as responsible. "As much as I'm enjoying this...and trust me, I am enjoying this...I just don't want us to have our professionalism called into question because we can't control ourselves on the clock."

Nick's face had a myriad of expressions and then he let out a low chuckle. "Technically, we're on a break." He smirked at her and leaned in and placed a soft chaste kiss against her lips. As he pulled away, he smiled and reached up to caress her cheek. "But you are right...we probably shouldn't get into the habit of doing this when we're working."

Sara grinned at him; glad that he understood. "I mean it's not like we don't have a date for after shift." She hoped that their second date was as fun as the first and that even though she thoroughly enjoyed kissing him that they'd get to do something as fun and goofy as carving pumpkins again.

Nick grinned back at her. "Yeah, we do." He looked at her thoughtfully for a long moment. "Interested in a little breakfast and a round of miniature golf?" As much as he would love to spend the entire date making out with he, that would surely start leading to other things and he knew for certain that was a line they needed to be careful about crossing. He didn't want to treat sleeping with Sara lightly especially because of the conversation they'd had previously. If or when they crossed that line, it would be because they'd talked about it ahead of time and were both ready for it.

"That sounds like fun...hopefully we won't end up pulling doubles." Sara knew full well that it was very possible that they would get results back just before the end of shift and it would just make sense to keep working.

"Yeah...although it would be nice to catch a break on my case." Nick smirked at her. Double shifts were something that you just had to accept in this line of work; they both knew it, but it could certainly put a huge damper on your social life.

Sara nodded in understanding; her case had been rather perplexing and she really would like to get some sort of lead from the evidence that she'd gathered if for no other reason than she'd feel like what she'd done was going to make some semblance of a difference in the grander scheme of things that night. She let out a deep sigh and then glanced over at Nick. "Hey, Nick?"

His eyes locked with hers and he couldn't help but smile at her. "Yeah?" He could tell that she had something on her mind, but even though her expression was serious, she looked at peace.

"Thank you." Sara could just about get lost in those deep brown eyes of his.

Nick chuckled softly. "What are you thanking me for?" Not that he didn't have confidence in his ability to kiss; he just didn't think that's what she was talking about.

Her lips twitched up into a tiny smile and she reached up and tucked a stray bit of her hair back behind her ear. "Thank you for calling my bluff and not running away from me when I asked you to...well...I...you were right...I do want it all." A faint blush colored her cheeks. "I just didn't think I was the kind of woman you'd be interested in...I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't know how this thing between you and I is going to end up, but I'm glad that we're taking the risk to find out."

Nick's face broke into a grin and he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Life's too short not too, darlin'." He knew full well that the risk was well worth finding out if a relationship with Sara would have a tag line that said 'happily ever after'. He'd had plenty of time to contemplate his own mortality and after being rescued, he wasn't about to waste another day letting fear rob him of living life to its fullest.

Sara smiled softly and then gestured towards the Starbucks. "We probably should go get the coffee and get back to the lab...but I wouldn't mind another break like this during a really long shift."

Nick laughed out loud rather heartily; he completely shared her sentiments. "I think that can be arranged." They both knew that it was time to step back into the real world and so they slid out of the SUV and headed into Starbucks to pick up their coffee. Once they got back they probably wouldn't get to see each other again until the end of shift, but the break had been extremely nice and they were sure that the coffee they were bringing with them would be very welcome back at the lab, especially by one very tired Greg Sanders.


	12. Chapter 12

In a word, Nick was frustrated. As soon as he and Sara had gotten back to the lab with the coffee, all hell had broken loose. Their current cases were suddenly shelved as the call went out for all hands on deck. A rather high profile judge up for re-election had been found dead in an alleyway along with his wife and sixteen year old son in a less than savory part of town and the mayor wanted CSI all over it.

Any idea that there would be a single shift and a date to follow that night went right out the window; pulling a double shift would be a lucky thing; it would be far more likely that they'd all be pulling triples. The only person even close to getting to go home soon was Greg simply because he was already well into a double shift when the call came in.

Now here the team was pouring over the alley looking for any shred of evidence to point them in the direction of who might have killed the judge and his family. The distasteful task of notifying the only surviving member of the family, a twenty year old daughter away at college, fell to the sheriff who was a close family friend of the deceased.

"I've got nothing." Sara sounded frustrated. She'd spent the better part of the last hour looking under and around the family's car for any possible trace evidence. From first glance, they'd been killed there, but the question remained: why? If they could answer that, it might shed more light on who had killed them.

"Maybe when we get it back to the garage we'll be able to find something." Nick wanted to sound positive, but he hadn't really done much better. He'd photographed the scene and was about finished and ready to head back to the lab. He knew that the task to comb over the car would fall to him and Sara; and if they couldn't have that date, at least they'd get to spend some time together, even if the circumstances were rather morbid.

"I've got a shell casing." Warrick sounded relieved that he'd found something. He was tired and just wanted to go home and spend some time snuggled up to Tina; holding onto a soft warm body to reassure him that not everything in this life was full of death and darkness; something he saw far too much of in this line of work.

"The tow truck should be here pretty soon." Greg looked completely bleary-eyed as he walked up to where the other three stood; Catherine and Grissom had both left the scene some time ago; Grissom to go with the bodies and Catherine off with Sophia and Brass to start interviewing coworkers and friends of the judge to help get a picture of the real man behind the robe.

"Greg, why don't you go back to the lab and get some shut eye?" Nick looked a little concerned about the younger CSI. Despite consuming copious amounts of coffee, it was clear that what Greg needed was some good old fashioned sleep.

"Don't think I can drive." Greg responded, glad that he had ridden to the scene with Grissom in the first place.

"So we have nothing and one shell casing." Sara harrumphed as she shook her head in disbelief. If she'd thought her previous case had come to a standstill, this one had gotten there at warp speed; of course that could change just as fast. Hopefully the preliminary examination of the bodies from the coroner would yield clues that the scene hadn't.

"Look, we're all tired and I don't think we're going to find anything else out here tonight." Warrick reasoned that someone needed to take charge. "I'll take our evidence and Greg back to the lab." He held up the bindle the bullet casing now resided in and a sort of half smirk graced his face.

"And Sara and I will wait for the tow." Nick could think of worse things than to spend an evening with Sara alone; although he was going to make damn sure that a few uniforms stuck around so that they would have a little extra protection. This was definitely not the part of town that he would choose to take a date into; even if they were both carrying weapons.

Sara couldn't help but snicker a little at the cheerful tone in Nick's voice, but she really wasn't complaining. She'd rather be out here with him that anyone else; and she also wanted to talk to him about how they were going to handle this new relationship in front of their coworkers. It was obvious from tonight that they could clearly remain professional, but if double and triple shifts happened too often, the only time they might be spending large quantities of time together was at work. They were going to have to achieve some sort of balance for this thing between them to have a chance of working out.

"No argument here." Greg mumbled; it was amazing that he was even still standing for someone who was much more asleep than he was awake.

"See you guys back at the lab." Warrick sort of pushed Greg in the general direction of where his Denali was parked and then shot over his shoulder a little barb. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." A smirk was apparent on his face as he let out a low chuckle at the grin that spread across Nick's face and the embarrassed smile that spread across Sara's.

As Warrick and Greg climbed into the SUV, Sara glanced over at Nick and her left brow arched ever so slightly. "So, what does Warrick know exactly?" It wasn't that she didn't want anyone to know; she just wanted to know what it was that they knew so she wasn't blindsided.

Nick's lips twitched into a boyish smile. "All he knows is that we went on _a_ date...and that I was looking forward to going out with you on a second date. I don't think anyone knows that we're officially _dating_. That is unless there was someone in my rig earlier that I didn't' know about."

Sara couldn't help but giggle at the image of someone spying on them. "Ok." She tried to put a more serious look on her face as she met Nick's gaze. "But what are we going to tell them all...should we tell them all?" She really didn't know what the consequences were for dating a coworker really; not that she hadn't considered it before when she had Grissom tunnel vision. She just didn't know if the others would have a problem with it, or if it would interfere with their jobs.

Nick gave her a thoughtful glance. "Well, we should at least say something to Grissom since he's our supervisor." A smile spread across his face. "And if Catherine found out about it later and neither of us were the ones that told her, she'd be pretty upset...as for Warrick...I think he'll be glad...he's been telling me that I should ask you out for a while now." Nick wasn't about to tell her just how long that was; although it was something that he was sure Warrick would be happy to tell her.

"That's good." Sara wasn't sure how Grissom or Catherine would take the news; Grissom because it would definitely be clear that it was too late for him to do anything about the feelings that she knew he had but had squashed for years, and Catherine because she was rather protective of Nick and the two women had never particularly bonded in the nearly six years that they'd worked together.

"Of course Greg's another story." Nick couldn't help but chuckle at how Greg would take the news that he and Sara were dating; especially given that he thought he was already dating someone.

"I'll tell Greg." Sara smiled; she liked Greg, and while it was true that the younger CSI had been very open about his attraction to her; her feelings for him were much more sisterly in nature. He'd become a very good friend over the last year in particular and Sara knew that deep down, he valued that friendship far more than any potential relationship that they both knew would never happen. Greg would be happy for her because Sara knew that what he really wanted was for her to be happy; Nick would make her happy, of that she was fairly certain. The question begged as the occasional doubt reared its ugly head, would _she_ really make _him_ happy?


	13. Chapter 13

As soon as the coroner began his preliminary examination, two things became abundantly clear. First of all, the caliber of bullet that killed all three victims was different than the casing that Warrick had found, and secondly, the evidence suggested that the judge and his wife had been shot from directly behind and their son had been shot in the side of his head suggesting that the killer had been in the car with the victims when they'd been killed, making the processing of the car that much more critical.

Nick and Sara had spent the last three hours pouring over the car looking for any clue that might tell them who the shooter had been and whether he knew the judge and his family or if it had just been a car jacking gone bad. Their regular shift was long since over and it appeared that date number two wasn't going to happen as scheduled since sleep was going to take priority. Nick glanced over at Sara who at that moment was looking at something intently through a magnifying glass with a pair of tweezers poised to pluck it from the upholstery of the vehicle. He quirked an eyebrow her direction. "You got something?"

"Hair." Sara didn't even look up as she expertly pulled it away from the seat where the shooter had presumably been sitting and tucked it into a bindle. With it safely stowed away, she looked up at him and smiled. "Skin tag attached."

He grinned. "Maybe we'll get lucky and get our perp's DNA." He didn't think that he could ever grow tired of working with Sara. His feelings for her aside, her ability to focus on solving the cases helped him work all that much harder; he was always glad when he got to work with her.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see." Sara was hopeful; the hair she'd pulled off the seat was a longer blondish hair that was easily distinguished from the dark brown hair from all of their victims.

As Nick continued his search of the front seats, he cleared his throat. "So I talked to my sister Natalie."

Sara felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach at the thought of meeting Nick's sister.

"It's possible that you might get to meet more than just her and Fiona." Nick glanced up at her to gauge her reaction.

"Oh." Sara felt her stomach sink even further as she hoped that there wasn't going to be some sort of impromptu Stokes family reunion in Vegas with her headlining the marquee.

"Yeah, she told me that Chelsea and Kevin and the boys might swing through here after they hit Disneyland." Nick furrowed his brow as he realized that there was what appeared to be a smudge of blood on the headrest of the passenger seat and if they were lucky, they just might get a decent print.

"Chelsea and Kevin?" Sara's head was swimming as she tried to remember what Nick had told her about his family.

"Yeah, Kevin was in LA on business and they decided to take Aiden and Conner with as for some sort of NFL charity event. Chels didn't want Fiona to miss her ballet lessons and since Natalie was coming out to LA for something else a few days after they were leaving, she offered to bring Fiona with." Nick continued.

Sara wasn't really following. "Oh."

Nick glanced up at her as he began to dust the seat headrest for a distinguishable print. "Fiona is Chelsea and Kevin's daughter and she really isn't into football. Kevin works for the Dallas Cowboys and he's married to my sister. They might swing through Vegas before they go back to Dallas if they have enough time."

Sara smiled as she glanced up from where she was still pouring over the backseat. "Do I need to diagram them out to keep track?" Having only had one brother, the idea of multiple siblings was a bit overwhelming; but she'd always been envious of how Nick talked about his family.

Nick let out a loud chuckle. "Maybe." Despite the fact that they weren't going to get another date in before Natalie arrived with Fiona, he was enjoying being with Sara. At some point they were going to have to clue their coworkers in on their newfound relationship and they were also going to have to figure out how to balance it out with work. Nick knew it could work; he'd seen a couple on the dayshift do it quite well.

They both turned their attention back to the car, eager to get it processed so they could make some sort of headway on their case and maybe sneak in a little time alone outside of work before sleep became an absolute necessity. They'd nearly finished the car when the sound of footsteps approached.

"Grissom wants everyone in the break room in five minutes for a briefing." Warrick sounded tired. Normally he would have taken the time to give Nick a hard time about working alone with Sara and looking too excited to be processing a car, but right now all he wanted was to go home and sleep; he was fairly certain that Tina probably had already left for work herself and so unless he stopped by the hospital, he wasn't going to get to see her until later anyway.

"We got something?" Nick's interest was piqued as he glanced up at Warrick.

Warrick shook his head. "Not much. I think Grissom just wants to see what everyone has." He smirked a little as he noticed how close Sara was standing to Nick, her cheeks a little flushed as a smile tugged at her lips. "What about you two? Anything new here?" His tone clearly implied that he wasn't just talking about the car.

Nick opted to play dumb. "Sara found a hair. I think I might have a print." He grinned knowing full well what Warrick was asking, but finding this far more fun.

Sara cleared her throat. "And I found another bullet casing." She hadn't had time to show Nick before Warrick had walked in, but she held up the casing in her latex gloved fingers. "Looks to be about the same caliber as our vics' wounds suggest." They'd all been briefed throughout the shift about what little progress they had made as a team, and finding that bullet casing was definitely something progress.

Nick glanced over, his eyebrow arched in curiosity. "Way to go, Sar." He could have just kissed her just then, but under the circumstances didn't think she'd appreciate it; well at least until the evidence was stowed properly.

"Yeah, girl, good job." He studied the pair for a moment letting out a soft chuckle at the way Nick just couldn't seem to stop himself from touching Sara's arm while he offered her an affectionate glance. He decided to quiz them a little before heading to the briefing. "You two have that second date yet?"

Sara blushed, but smiled anyway as she glanced at Nick before looking at Warrick. "Not yet." She was going to hold Nick to that date; dating her wasn't going to get him out of going on actual dates.

"So you actually want to go out with this guy again?" Warrick wanted to make sure that he offered a voice of reason in the middle of whatever was transpiring between his two coworkers. If things didn't turn out well; he wanted to be able to still be friends with both of them.

Sara smiled a bit wider. "Yeah, I do." She was considering how to tell Warrick that she and Nick were actually dating each other, but Nick beat her to it.

"In fact, we're going to be going on a lot of dates, aren't we, Sar?" He grinned at her, wishing that at that moment that they both had normal jobs so they could clock out and spend some time alone without worrying about someone getting away with murder unless they worked extra hours.

"Yeah, we are." While she was relieved that Warrick seemed pleased with the news by the look on his face, she didn't really like to be the focus of attention when it came to her personal life and she quickly deflected it by nudging Nick in the ribs. "Uh, guys, we should get to the briefing."


	14. Chapter 14

The briefing was relatively short. Grissom had decided, by way of decree from Ecklie, that to continue working would only endanger the case and so after they'd gone over what evidence they did have everyone was off for a mandatory eight hours rest. As the CSIs filtered out of the break room, Nick and Sara exchanged a glance and then approached Grissom.

"Hey, Gris, you got a minute?" Nick felt more nervous than his exterior showed; Grissom was his mentor, a sort of father figure, but etched into his mind was the obsession that Sara'd had with him for a very long time and he felt a bit insecure with what he needed to tell his supervisor.

Grissom assumed that it was regarding the case and he gave Nick and Sara both a stern expression. "You should be heading home and getting some sleep." He needed his team fresh; he did not want the dayshift crew to interfere with the investigation. Even if Ecklie wasn't in charge of dayshift anymore, he still felt a rivalry with them and an intense loyalty to his own crew.

Sara had a serious expression edged with a smile that went all the way to her eyes as she interjected. "Grissom, it isn't about the case." She suddenly felt nervous; it wasn't like she and Nick were getting married, they were just dating, but it was _who_ she had to share that information with that was making her feel a bit unsettled. She had moved on, but she wasn't sure that Grissom had ever come to grips with the feelings that she knew that he had but couldn't act on. She wasn't sure how this was going to go down and how it was going to affect their careers. "Uh, we need to talk to you about something personal."

Grissom looked befuddled as he looked at Sara and then at Nick and then back to Sara again. He wasn't sure exactly what she meant by personal or why they needed to tell him together, but he certainly didn't think that the middle of the break room was the place to have it. "Uh, my office then." He could certainly spare a few moments for two of his best CSIs; he had a soft spot for both of them, but for completely different reasons. For some reason he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as they made their way down the hallway; something about the way Sara had looked at Nick made him wonder just how personal this thing they wanted to share was and if he really wanted to know about it. He'd definitely harbored feelings for Sara, but he knew that to pursue her would be the death of his career and he just couldn't make that leap of faith that she wouldn't leave him someday the way his father had left his mother when she'd gone deaf.

As soon as they'd entered Grissom's office, Nick closed the door. He tried to quell his nerves as he smiled and then broke the silence that had descended on the trio as they'd traveled down the hallway. "We just wanted you to know that we're dedicated professionals and we have no problem separating our personal lives from work so you have nothing to worry about. If Ecklie has a problem with it, he shouldn't..." Nick realized that he was rambling and that Grissom probably had no idea what he was talking about.

Grissom's brow was furrowed as he considered what Nick was implying, but before he had a chance to voice a question to confirm what the sinking feeling in his stomach had already told him, Sara tried to put Nick's rambling into context.

"What Nick is trying to say is...is that he and I...that we...well..." Sara felt her mouth go dry. Why the hell was this so hard to get out? She was dating Nick, neither of them really wanted to keep it a secret so why was she being just as articulate as Nick.

Grissom's eyes widened as he took a conclusion and jumped with it as far as he could take it, for the first time he could remember since he'd worked with either CSI, he lost sight of the evidence, which was that he didn't have all of it and really shouldn't make an assumption. "What are you trying to tell me?" His first thought was if they were worried about some sort of personal life interfering with work that they must have taken a drastic step like Warrick had. "You didn't get married did you?"

"No!" Nick and Sara blurted out at the same time. Neither one of them were ready for that kind of leap; they were just trying to see how dating would work out.

Grissom felt strangely relieved. "Oh. Good." The words were out before he realized what he was admitting in a backhanded sort of way. Before he could start to back pedal, Sara made it clear that regardless of what he thought about her, he was too late to do anything about it.

"Nick and I are dating...we just needed to let you know that because you're our supervisor." There was no malice in her voice, but it was edged with a little hurt towards Grissom that she'd wasted a good portion of time waiting for him to do something about what he was feeling. She knew now that she could never settle for waiting for someone who wasn't willing to pursue her.

"Oh." Grissom was mildly surprised, but please all the same that they'd come to him to let him know rather than wait for the information to make its way through the grapevine. It was their professionalism that impressed him even if the news itself left him feeling a bit bereft. "Good."

Nick was doing his best to not laugh; his grin at officially going public with Sara was a good cover for that. "We promise you won't have any reason to think we'll be anything but professional, Gris."

Grissom looked at him and felt a rush of pride at the man that Nick had become in the time he'd known him and he realized that if he couldn't have the courage to be with Sara that he couldn't think of a better man than Nick. "No, I'm sure I won't." A tired smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Now go home; you're both off for the next eight hours." A boyish smirk flitted across his face. "Be sure to get some rest."

The implication was hanging there in the air and it was Nick who was suddenly feeling like he'd just been interrogated by his girlfriend's father. "Uh, yeah."

Sara looked horrified that Grissom had even implied that she and Nick had any plans other than to go to their separate homes and go to sleep, despite the fact that they'd just announced that they were dating. "I need to go." She turned on her heels and left Grissom's office without another word.

Nick stood there momentarily and then turned to follow her, hoping that she didn't just bolt from the building; he was hopeful that she'd at least be willing to catch a quick breakfast before heading home. He rounded the corner into the locker room to find her stuffing a few things into her bag. "Sara."

She glanced up. "That wasn't at all awkward." Her tone was decidedly sarcastic and she was clearly flustered given that she'd just stuffed her CSI vest into her bag and then pulled it right back out to hang it up.

"He had to know." Nick couldn't help but smile at her; she was so damn cute when she got like this. "He just made a lot of assumptions for a guy who typically follows the evidence." There was an unspoken question reflecting his own insecurity in hanging between them.

Sara's head snapped up and there was a bit of fire in her eyes. "He's too late; I know what he was implying and he's too late. I don't want him anymore." Her expression softened a bit as she smiled back at him. "You're the one that I want to be with."

Nick's smile widened into a grin and he stepped towards her reaching out to brush a tendril of hair off of her face with his fingertips. "Feel like grabbing a quick breakfast with your new boyfriend?" And then after that breakfast, he'd be sure to kiss her soundly before he let her go home; to give him something to dream about and maybe her too.

She grinned back at him as she tilted her head to the side, glad for how things had unfolded between them after her embarrassing proposition. "I'd love to."


	15. Chapter 15

Nick and Sara met up at the diner around the corner and down the street a ways from the lab; Nick leaning against his Denali as Sara pulled into the small parking lot. He couldn't help but grin at her as she descended from her vehicle and sauntered over towards him. He hadn't kissed her the locker room, but he didn't pass up on the chance now; he took her hand in his and leaned over to softly kiss her, savoring the sensation that he never wanted to take for granted.

Sara had a wide smile on her face as they broke the kiss and then began to walk towards the entrance to the diner with their fingers laced together. She had been mulling over the brief meeting in Grissom's office as she followed Nick over to the diner. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from her mentor, but the reaction he'd give definitely wasn't it. "I suppose telling Grissom could have gone a lot worse than it did."

Nick quirked an eyebrow at her. "I don't think it went _that_ bad." He actually thought it went a hell of a lot better than he'd thought it would; especially given that he suspected that Grissom had _some_ feelings for Sara; why the man had never acted upon them was a complete mystery to him.

Sara looked mildly mortified. "Nick he practically insinuated that you and I were going to go have wild sex instead of going home and getting some sleep." Her reaction was almost comical.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Nick smirked at her and squeezed her hand; his expression softening a bit as her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, all I'm saying is we told him we were dating; he's gonna naturally make some assumptions."

"Grissom doesn't assume." Sara realized as the words left her mouth that assume is exactly what Grissom _had_ done when he'd jumped to the conclusion that she and Nick had run off and gotten married. She let out a giggle. "Ok, so I guess even Grissom can be human sometimes."

"Yes he can." Nick had a satisfied smile on his face as they walked through the doors of the diner and glanced around for an open booth to sit in. What they hadn't counted on finding was that the rest of the team minus Grissom had heard the diner calling as well and were currently sharing a booth in the corner by the window which had a clear view of the parking lot. Nick nudged Sara with his elbow and felt her hand tense in his as they exchanged a glance.

"I guess we won't be eating alone." There was disappointment in her tone, but at the same time, she knew that the news about her relationship with Nick was going to get out and it might as well be sooner rather than later; especially if the kiss they'd just shared out in the parking lot had been in full view of their table.

"I guess not." Nick was more than pleased to walk up to the booth with Sara in tow, taking note of Warrick's smirk, Catherine's curious smile, and Greg's outright shock. "Got room?"

Warrick scooted over in his seat to make room for Sara, and Nick grabbed a chair and sat at the end of the table. It didn't take long before the waitress wandered over, filling up cups of coffee all around and took their orders.

It was Catherine that finally asked about the proverbial elephant standing in the room. "So how long have you two been dating?" She still sounded as surprised as she had when they'd first walked in the room. In her mind at least, Nick and Sara couldn't be more opposite if they tried and the last time she had her pulse on Sara's love life or lack thereof, the woman had a thing for Grissom. When that changed she didn't know, but she was suddenly very curious.

Nick sounded amused as he answered her question. "Not long." No one needed to know the exact details of how this relationship had come about; that was a secret between he and Sara and he had promised her he would never tell anyone.

"So how did Nicky boy her get you to go out with him?" Greg looked at Sara expectantly. While it had been true he'd had a crush on her for years; the last year of working with her as a CSI had changed his focus and he found that he had found a true friend in her and that was far more valuable to him than something romantic.

Sara couldn't hide her smile even as she wished that the spotlight wasn't on her. "Uh, he asked me out and I said yes. Simple as that." It wasn't really that simple at all, but no one else but she and Nick needed to know that.

Warrick was picking up on some hidden clues. "So just how long have you had a thing for Nick?" He laughed at Sara's expression as she blushed and choked on her coffee. "I know how long Nick's had a thing for you, so I was just wondering." Warrick gave Nick a meaningful stare letting him know that he knew he'd been interested in Sara far longer than he knew he'd admit.

"She's been interested long enough." Nick answered for her, reaching under the table and giving her hand a squeeze. "Isn't that right, Sar?" He leaned towards her intent on kissing her when he heard Catherine interject.

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Grissom finds out." Catherine snorted out under her breath wondering just how flipped out Gil Grissom would be when he found out.

There was a definite spunky tone in Sara's voice just before she closed the distance and kissed Nick. "He already does."

This time, Catherine snorted on her coffee. "And he didn't have a problem with it." She sounded doubtful; not only did she know that Gil had a thing for Sara, she also knew that Grissom wasn't a fan of people dating their coworkers. The fact that he'd never pursued Sara was case in point; the fact that he'd never pursued Catherine so many years ago was another case in point.

"He didn't seem to." Nick had an impish smile on his face. "He just told us to make sure we got enough sleep." He knew exactly what he was implying and he knew he'd probably catch hell from Sara for it, but the rest of the table needed to know that his and Sara's relationship was between the two of them and they weren't going to be offering a play by play or be the center of office controversy; by going to Grissom first they'd nipped that right in the bud.

"Looks like our food is up." Sara could see the waitress making her way over to their table and it effectively changed the line of conversation as they began to dig into their meals.

Nick winked at her knowing exactly what she'd done and silently thanking her for it.

It was later as they were walking out to their vehicles Sara turned towards him looking a little nervous. "Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah?" He was smiling, but his brow curved upwards as he noted her expression and he couldn't help but reach over and trail his fingers down her cheek tenderly.

Sara blurted her words out without really thinking about how they sounded. "I've been thinking about that wild sex..." Her words trailed off as she closed her eyes for a moment and an embarrassed smile spread across her face.

"Oh, you have, have you?" Nick was clearly amused.

Sara opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyes conveying that she was serious. "What I'm trying to say is...we...well, I feel anyway, that we should talk about sex..." It still wasn't coming out quite right.

Nick couldn't resist teasing her a bit. "I had that talk with my dad when I was about twelve."

"Nick." Sara's tone was impatient but she let out a nervous chuckle all the same.

"I'm sorry." He smiled. "Ok, let's talk about sex." He knew he wanted Sara, but he also knew that to rush that step in their relationship would be a big mistake; he just hoped that they got to that stage sooner rather than later because Warrick was right; he'd had a thing for Sara for a long time.

Sara just wanted to get her feelings out in the open and let things fall where they may. "I just don't think I'm ready yet, even though I'm sure everyone probably thinks we already are." She let out a self conscious laugh. "I guess that probably surprises you since I..."

Nick interrupted before she could finish. "Sara, I know _you_, and it doesn't surprise me." He knew that she wasn't the kind of woman that rushed into anything; especially relationships and he was going to take great care to keep her trust.

Her eyes implored him to understand as she looked into his deep brown eyes. "I don't want you to have any doubt about my intentions when we get to that point." She felt guilty for even having suggested to him what she had a few days before, but at the same time it had opened the door for their relationship to go beyond the bounds of friendship.

"And I don't want you to doubt mine either." Nick whispered softly as he leaned in and gently kissed her.


	16. Chapter 16

_United flight 1527 is now boarding all rows at Gate 23A. This is your last call for United flight 1527bound for Newark._

The bustle of the airport was serving to make Sara incredibly nervous and she was thankful that Nick seemed to be clinging as tightly to her hand as she was to his. The idea that she was going to be meeting Nick's sister in a few short minutes with his five year old niece in tow was causing waves of panic to hit and she was doing her best to fight off her nerves.

"I can't believe they're going to be here in a few minutes, I haven't seen Natalie in months and I'm not sure I'll even recognize Fiona." Nick was scanning the crowd in baggage claim for any sign of his sister. The display over the baggage claim carousel showed her flight and according to the monitors in the terminal, they should be on the ground.

Sara smiled in spite of her nerves. "I'm sure you'll recognize them." He had shown her a picture of Fiona just last night; it was a fairly recent one and Sara could tell even from that picture that the five year old had a firecracker of a personality.

"They are going to love you." Nick had to restrain his tongue as he realized that the reason he knew that they would love her was because he was falling hard for her. "I'm really glad you could come with me. Remind me to thank Grissom later."

Sara smirked. "I think you thanked him enough on the way out of the lab." The case they'd all been working on had broken wide open when the evidence began to suggest that a friend of the son had been in the car and when confronted with the fact that they knew he'd been in the car, he'd confessed to all three murders. The motive was still a bit murky, but the rest of the CSIs were in the midst of processing evidence and since the most likely suspect was in custody, Grissom had agreed to let Nick and Sara have the evening off; after Nick had explained why they needed it off in the first place.

"Well, I know that he didn't have to let us off, so I'm gonna just thank him a little bit more; especially for letting you come with me." Nick grinned at her before leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek.

Sara didn't say anything, she just smiled back and she only hoped that her nervousness didn't show through. The last time her stomach had felt like this, she'd had a 24-hour flu bug. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blond woman who looked far too much like Nick to not be related moving their direction with a young girl in tow. Sara forced a smile and nudged Nick in the direction of the blond that was now calling out Nick's name.

"Nicky!" A petite blond with a wide smile was expertly maneuvering herself and a curly headed brunette about half her height Nick and Sara's direction.

"Natalie! Fiona!" Nick's grin widened even further as he swept his sister up into a hug and his niece wrapped herself around his hips.

Sara stood there feeling incredibly awkward wondering just how she was going to be received. After the happy reunion between the three, she felt all eyes turning her direction and now she would swear even under oath that the 24-hour flu had nothing on what she was currently feeling.

"Nat, Fiona, this is my _girlfriend_ Sara." Nick seemed to relish introducing Sara as his girlfriend and he slipped his arm around her waist a bit possessively to emphasize his point.

"Hi." Sara hoped that her voice didn't sound as cracked to them as it did in her own ears. "Nick's told me a lot about you." She appreciated the warm smile and the handshake from Natalie. Fiona was a bit more of a hard sell.

The curls on Fiona's head seemed to dance as she cocked her head to the side and her eyes narrowed just slightly as she gave Sara a once over. She studied her for a long moment and then a big smile broke out across her freckled face. "I like her Uncle Nicky; she's pretty."

"_I_ think so, Fiona." Nick grinned and pulled Sara a little closer; somehow sensing that the whole situation was sending Sara into overdrive.

"Nicky has been talking non-stop about you, Sara." Natalie shot Nick a knowing look; the fact that it had been longer than any of their family could remember that Nick had told them he even had a girlfriend told her how special Sara must be to him; usually she'd just hear about a string of first dates that never seemed to go anywhere.

"Oh." Sara sounded a little surprised, but pleased all at the same time and she found herself smiling even as her nerves remained.

Nick felt a bit nervous now and he quickly changed the subject. "So Fiona, I hear you're doing ballet now."

"I'm in the 'Nutcracker'! I get to be a snowflake." Fiona grinned widely and spun around to demonstrate just why she'd been chosen to twirl around the stage.

"She had a rehearsal with the local ballet company and so she couldn't go to California with the rest of the family." Natalie explained tousling Fiona's hair.

"Someday I might get to be Clara." Fiona sounded almost reverent at the mention of the main character's name.

Nick let out a soft chuckle. "And when you get to be Clara, I'll be sure to be there opening night, darlin'." It was evident that Nick was proud of his niece.

Sara felt a rush of emotion that she did her best to squash down rather than to risk crying at the thought that Nick would make a great father; she had to remember, they were taking this one step at a time and they were only dating; there were no guarantees how far this relationship between them would go.

"And now I get to go to _Disneyland_!" Fiona was beyond excited.

"Well first, we're going to spend some time with Uncle Nicky and Sara and get dinner." Natalie's grinned; she was looking forward to spending some time getting to know this woman that appeared to have captured her little brother's heart. She could tell by the way the pair kept exchanging glances that this relationship between them was probably more serious than either one of them would admit to.

"Yeah!" Fiona jumped up and down. "Can we go get some fries? I love fries."

"I think we might be able to arrange that." Nick replied with an amused grin. "But first we need to get your bags." Nick found Sara's hand with his and began to follow Natalie and Fiona through the crowd to the baggage carousel.

"They seem really nice." Sara hadn't said much, her stomach was still churning with nerves, but the smile on her face was genuine.

"They are." Nick leaned over and kissed her cheek; a thought running through his mind that he hoped that the rest of his family would get the opportunity to meet her too. "And I can tell they really like you."

Inwardly, Sara felt a sense of relief and as she watched Nick help his sister grab her and Fiona's bags, she felt a small hand slip into hers. A smile tugged at her lips as she glanced over to see Fiona standing next to her with a firm grip on her hand. As the little girl looked up at her and smiled in return Sara felt her heart melt.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay in updating this story; life has been abundantly crazy. Know that I have this story planned out so it will get posted, just slower than I would like.


	17. Chapter 17

"Are you going to marry Uncle Nicky?" Fiona looked at Sara with all of the innocence and precociousness of a five year old, her expression completely serious as she settled herself in the backseat of Nick's Denali. As far as she was concerned, Sara was perfect for Nick.

Sara felt her stomach churning as she considered just how she should answer that question and she didn't dare look over at Nick who had just slid behind the wheel. She and Nick had only started dating and while she wouldn't deny that she felt that he was definitely the kind of man she could see herself with, she didn't want to jump to any conclusion about where their relationship was going to end up.

Nick was flabbergasted at the question and his mouth opened and shut a couple of times before he got a sound out. "Uh..." If he said 'no', he wondered if Sara would wonder what his intentions really were, and if he said 'yes', she might get the idea that he was more serious at this stage than he really was.

It was Natalie though that managed to string a coherent sentence together. "Fiona, honey, Uncle Nicky and Sara just started dating; they have to date for a while before they'll know if they want to marry each other."

"Oh." Fiona considered that for a minute while Nick tried to concentrate on driving and Sara glanced out the window. "When you're done dating, are you going to marry Uncle Nicky?" It all seemed perfectly logical in her five year old mind that if this was all it took, that she wouldn't mind having Sara for an aunt.

Sara felt sick to her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was nerves, or if it was the realization that if she'd had her way initially, there would have been a lot more questions from this particular five year old and the rest of Nick's nieces and nephews that she wasn't prepared to answer. "I don't know." There was a slight waver in her voice as she felt bile rising up in the back of her throat.

Nick glanced over at her, hoping that she wasn't taking his niece's little interrogation too seriously, even though he was starting to feel like his shirt collar was a little too small. "What Sara is trying to say, Fiona, is that we have to like each other as much as your mom and dad do, and sometimes it takes some people longer than others to know...dating is sort of like...like...uh, well, trying out for the Nutcracker..."

Natalie snorted and glanced at Sara and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Do you mean that you have to go to an _audition_ to get married?" Fiona asked sounding a little worried.

"No...not quite...uh, it's more like each date is like seeing what each of us likes about the other person, and maybe if we like each other enough, we get the part." Nick wasn't sure that he was making a lot of sense, but he wanted Fiona to stop asking questions.

"Oh, like 'American Idol'!" Fiona squealed from the backseat.

"Only you don't get to vote, honey." Natalie scolded with a bit of a smirk at how Nick had managed to get himself out of a potentially sticky situation.

Sara felt like her head was spinning and now she was sure that it wasn't just from the line of questioning; she'd wondered about the latte she'd had earlier that day and now all doubt about the age of the milk in it was removed as she let out a bit of a whimper. "Nick?"

Nick glanced over at her and his eyes widened slightly as he realized that she looked pretty pale. "You okay?" Sara didn't get sick, but that's exactly how she looked at that moment.

"Can you pull over?" Sara didn't want to throw up all over the interior of the vehicle; she spent enough time in it for work that she knew she didn't want to smell what was going to make an appearance any second if she couldn't get out first.

"Yeah, just a sec." Nick quickly changed lanes and then pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. Before he could come to a complete stop, Sara had bolted from the vehicle and made it as far as some landscaping between the sidewalk and the parking lot before throwing up.

Natalie was the next one out of the SUV and concern was etched all over her face as she wondered if meeting her and Fiona was too much too soon for Sara. She rested her hand on Sara's back and rubbed it in soothing circles. "If Fiona's questions were too much, I'm really sorry...she always has been a bit too curious for her own good sometimes, she just says whatever happens to be going through her mind."

Sara shook her head. "No, I think it was a latte I had earlier." Her head was swimming and as much as she had been looking forward to spending some time with Nick and his sister and niece, all she wanted at that moment was to go home and lie down for a while.

"Sar?" Nick was clearly concerned as he slipped an arm around her waist, his hand brushing her hair off of her face. "You doing ok?" He had seen Sara throw up a few times, but usually it was because of some bodily fluid that had a smell that couldn't quite be described with words.

"No." Sara squeaked out. "I feel sick." She hated that she sounded as weak as she felt.

"No kidding." Nick glanced over at Natalie and gave her a look that clearly communicated that this was not a normal occurrence. "You want me to take you home?"

"Yes." Sara started to sniffle at how ridiculous she felt. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Natalie insisted. "You can't help when you don't feel well...I'm just sorry that we won't get to spend more time with you." Her smile was sincere; she could tell from the time that she'd spent with her and Nick so far that there was something different about Sara; and she liked it.

"Nat's right, Sar...we'll just take you home and get you settled and I'll come by and check on you a little later." Nick was propelling Sara back towards the Denali and feeling worried that she had come down with more than just food poisoning.

"You don't have to check on me, Nick." Sara's protest was weak at best. As much as she wanted to appear as the strong independent woman, it was nice to have him care.

"I want to check on you." He smiled at her. "And if you need something before I come by, I want you to call me, ok?" He made sure that she had her seatbelt fastened before he closed her door.

Natalie had watched this interaction as she climbed back in next to Fiona and couldn't keep the smile off of her face at just how tender Nick was; yes, this relationship was definitely different than the other relationships of his that she'd been privy to.

Nick slipped behind the wheel and glanced back at Fiona. "We're just going to take Sara home because she's not feeling too good right now, Fiona, then we'll go get your French Fries, ok?"

Fiona wrinkled up her nose at Nick; she had seen the entire exchange outside. "I don't think I'm very hungry any more."


	18. Chapter 18

Sara didn't even let Nick kiss her when he'd dropped her off, despite the fact that he'd walked her up to her apartment. She'd tried to reassure him that she'd be fine; that just in case it was more than just the latte, she didn't want him to risk getting sick. Nick had smirked at her in an attempt to hide his worry and reminded her that he'd already kissed her several times that day and it was too late if she was contagious. Now here she was in a pair of flannel pajamas still feeling chilled even with a fleece throw wrapped around herself as she lay on the couch, not so sure anymore that the latte was responsible.

She had sort of lost track of time, the TV was tuned to a 'What Not To Wear' marathon on TLC as she drifted in and out of sleep. It wasn't until the third knock sounded at the door that she pulled herself off of the couch and made her way over to the door.

Nick stood there with a big bunch of flowers in one hand and a grocery sack in the other. "How you feeling?" He could tell from her flushed appearance and the look in her eyes that she didn't feel good.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." Sara bemoaned as she took the flowers and smiled in spite of herself. The gesture of the flowers was a sweet one.

"And I've got a card here made by none other than Miss Fiona herself." Nick smirked as he gave her the card. "Uh, I apologize if her illustrations are a little, uh, graphic."

Sara looked at the card oddly and then glanced up at Nick. "What's this supposed to be?" It didn't look like your average sunshine and flowers that your average five year old might put together for a get well card.

Nick pointed at a rather awkward looking stick figure with what appeared to be a waterfall tumbling out of its head. "Uh, I think she was trying to tell you that she hopes you were done puking your guts out...that's a direct quote by the way."

Sara snickered. "She has quite the imagination, doesn't she?" It was impossible to dislike Fiona.

"Yes, she does." Nick smiled at her, his eyes still tinged with concern. "And Natalie wanted to make sure you were well supplied with food when you started feeling better." He hefted up the grocery sack that he'd brought in, placing it on her counter and let out a chuckle.

"I don't even want to think about food right now." Sara was suddenly tired all over again. "I'm sorry I'm such bad company...and I'm sorry that you're not spending time with your sister."

"Sar, they're sleeping right now." He smiled and propelled her towards the couch, pulling the fleece throw across her legs as he sat down next to her. "Fiona ran out of steam about an hour or so ago and Natalie wanted nothing more than a bubble bath and a good night's sleep before they head to LA tomorrow afternoon. I'll see them again before they leave."

"Oh." Sara couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks for checking on me." She wasn't sure what else to say.

"Well unless you're too tired, I thought I'd stay for a little while and keep you company." Nick knew he shouldn't stay long; Sara almost never was sick and she probably needed her rest far more than she needed him there.

"You can stay for a little while...I'm not sure how much fun I'm going to be." She let out a yawn.

Nick wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him, kissing her forehead. "Who said this was about having fun? You need a little TLC and I'm happy to give it...besides, I was really looking forward to spending some time with you."

"I was too." There was a distinct whine in Sara's voice; she had never been very patient about being sick.

"Well we're spending time together right now." Nick was perfectly happy just being with her. The fact that she was sick was an opportunity to dote on her in a way that he was sure she wouldn't normally consent to.

Sara let out a contented sigh, despite the fact that she felt feverish and achy all over, she felt a little bit better simply because Nick was holding her. She wondered if this was what it would be like if this relationship between her and Nick ended up the way that Fiona was questioning them earlier.

"You're feeling kind of warm." Nick was stroking Sara's cheek with his fingertips and he could tell that she was running a fever. "Have you taken anything?" He was glad now that Natalie had insisted that he bring some Tylenol and Pepto Bismol over 'just in case'. He was fairly certain that since Sara rarely ever got sick that those weren't things she'd keep around.

"No." Sara whispered softly, feeling tired all over again. "I just put on my pajamas and crashed on the couch." The truth was, she didn't have the energy to go to the store to get anything for it and she hadn't wanted to bother Nick while he was out with Natalie and Fiona.

"Well, you're in luck." Nick kissed her cheek and then pulled himself off of the couch and headed into the kitchen to get her some Tylenol and a glass of water. He settled himself on the couch and handed them over to her, arching a single brow as he did. "I think you might feel a little better if you take this."

"Thanks." Sara didn't argue, she popped the pills into her mouth and took a swig of the water to wash it down with. As much as she wanted Nick to stay, she wasn't sure she was even going to be able to stay awake to enjoy his company.

"You know, I think you might be more comfortable if you went to bed, Sar." Nick could see that she was starting to nod off again and despite the fact that he wanted to spend more time with her, he wanted her to feel better even more.

"Ok." Sara muttered, moving to stand up.

Before she could take three steps, Nick had scooped her up and was carrying her towards her bedroom, intent on getting her settled in.

"Nick, I'm just sick, I didn't break my ankle." Sara felt a little subconscious about the attention he was giving her, but she was enjoying every second of it.

"Well, I'm not taking any chances." He grinned at her as he set her down on her bed. "Now get under those covers so I can tuck you in." The thought occurred to him that under different circumstances he wouldn't mind a replay of this sans clothing, but that was not a thought he could really entertain at the moment.

Sara giggled, but complied. "Yes, sir." She sank back against the pillows, watching as Nick retrieved the Tylenol, a bottle of water and the Pepto Bismol, feeling a little overwhelmed at what he was doing. As he sat down on the edge of the bed Sara looked up at him with a questioning gaze. "Why are you doing all of this for me?"

Nick reached over and stroked her cheek. "Because I care about you; and because sometimes even you need to be taken care of." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Now get some sleep...I'll be out on your couch if you need anything."

Sara's brow furrowed. "What about your sister and Fiona?" How was he going to see them again before they left if he was there with her?

Nick grinned. "Nat knows I'm here, I'll call her in the morning after I know how you're feeling."

Sara nodded and closed her eyes, the feeling of Nick's fingers stroking her forehead and cheek was soothing; she murmured sleepily. "I think Fiona's card worked...I don't feel like I'm going to puke my guts out anymore."


	19. Chapter 19

When Sara woke up hours later, she didn't feel anywhere close to how sick she had felt when she'd gone to sleep and for that she was extremely grateful. She let out a yawn and stretched out in her bed, relishing in the cozy feeling of her flannel pajamas and the little cocoon of warmth her comforter had formed for her. She smiled as she thought about how great Nick had been about taking her home; interrupting his visit with Natalie and Fiona and then coming back to check on her. Her brow furrowed slightly as she wondered if he'd already left to go meet them for breakfast, or if he'd fallen asleep on her couch. She decided that since he hadn't checked on her that she was going to go check on him. She pushed the covers back and padded into her living room.

A smile stole across her face at the image of Nick sprawled out on her couch with an arm over his eyes and the other slung across his waist while his legs were barely hanging onto the edge of the couch. Sara couldn't help herself as she just stood there watching him sleep for a moment, stifling a snicker as he snorted in a breath and then startled himself awake.

"Uh, Sara, you ok?" He furrowed his brow in concern as he sat straight up and then launched himself into a standing position while rubbing the back of his neck. He was clearly still half asleep.

"Yeah, I'm good, actually." Sara's lips curled into a bigger smile as she stepped towards him. "I didn't mean to wake you up." She was standing in front of him now and reached up and slid her fingers through his hair to smooth it down garnering a sleepy smile from him.

"Good?" Nick looked at her hopefully. She had looked like she'd felt pretty sick earlier and he just wanted to make sure that he wasn't hearing things.

Sara nodded. "Yeah, I think it was just a 24-hour flu bug." And one she certainly did not want to have again by any stretch. She hadn't felt that sick in a long time and she was glad that she didn't have a fever and body aches anymore.

"Good." Nick smiled at her and then slid his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug, his smile widening as he felt her slide her arms around his neck and melt against him. He murmured into her ear. "I was worried."

"I'm fine." Sara just wanted to stand there like that for a good long time, enjoying the feel of Nick's strong arms around her and the warmth of his firm body against hers. She couldn't help but think about the time that she'd spent convincing herself that she wasn't his type, that there was no chance that he'd never be interested in her romantically, and yet here she was.

Nick pulled away slightly with one eyebrow curved upwards as he looked at her inquisitively. "Think you might feel good enough to come have breakfast with Nat and Fiona?" He really wanted her to get the chance to spend some quality time with some of his family; maybe to gauge her reaction of what it would be like to spend time with all of his family.

"I'd love to." Sara eyed his lips for the briefest of moments before she leaned in and softly pressed her lips against his, feeling a flurry of what could only be called warm fuzzies in her stomach as Nick responded to it eagerly. They stood there like that for a long time trading soft slow kisses, neither one of them in any hurry to stop.

When they broke apart quite a few minutes later, Sara saw a look in Nick's eyes that she never thought she'd see directed at her, even though she was his girlfriend, and her breath seemed to catch as she realized that what she saw in them was desire for her. She felt a soft slow caress against her back and that's when it registered in her mind that his hand was splayed out across her back underneath her pajama top. As much as the idea of throwing all caution to the wind appealed to her, the idea that she and Nick might be building something that just might be a happily ever after of sorts restrained her. If this was the real thing, she wanted it to unfurl itself at its own pace. She leaned in and gave him a soft chaste kiss and then pulled away. "I think I need to grab a shower if I'm going to go with you to see Natalie and Fiona."

"Yeah." Nick's eyes had a sort of glazed lusty look in them and it took him a few moments to realize that he needed to slow his libido down a little and pace himself. Even in his daze, he knew that Sara was worth waiting for; he just hoped he wasn't in for a marathon. "I'll just give them a call and see what's up, ok?"

"Ok." Sara grinned at him and turned before she lost her resolve to head to the bathroom to take a shower.

Nick let out a deep breath as she disappeared down the hallway and sank back down into the couch. He felt like he was in completely over his head and he wasn't really sure what that meant exactly. He felt something for Sara that he'd never really felt with anyone else and it both scared him and excited him. The idea that maybe just maybe she might be 'the one' caused a brief feeling of panic to surge through him until he realized that she just might be 'the one'. He let out a soft chuckle and mumbled to himself. "You are so whipped Stokes."

Suddenly the idea that he might really be falling in love felt freeing; as if he didn't need to worry that he might never find true love. That is until the idea occurred to him that Sara just might not feel the same way; at least right this moment. He had to remind himself that they had time; hopefully plenty of time, maybe even a lifetime of time. He shook his head, trying to banish this line of thinking and then rummaged around on Sara's coffee table for his cell phone so he could call his sister.

Natalie picked up on the third ring just when Nick was beginning to worry that she wouldn't pick the phone up at all since she was staying at his house. "Hey, Nat." He let out a yawn and then chuckled. "She's doing fine...just a 24-hour thing...she's in the shower." Nick's felt his cheeks turning pink as he listened to Natalie's interrogation. "I was a perfect gentleman, Nat...I slept on the couch." He let out a loud snort. "That's for me to know...I think you're getting a little personal." A grin spread across his face. "Yeah, she's going to join us for breakfast...I'm glad you like her...I hope everyone else likes her too." Nick's grin widened perceptibly. "Yeah, I think she just might be."

The rest of the conversation was spent ironing out the details of where they were going to go for breakfast and just how much time they had before Natalie and Fiona needed to be at the airport to catch their flight to LA. He had just hung up when he heard the shower shut off and he realized that he just might need to grab a quick shower himself.

Sara emerged wrapped up in a robe and toweling her hair. She cast a sort of smirky smile at him as she gestured towards the bathroom. "I thought maybe you might want to take a shower here depending on what time we're meeting your sister."

"Yeah, that's a great idea." It was that sort of mind meld that he often shared with Sara that made Nick more than willing to fall for her.

"I put a couple of extra towels out on the counter for you." Sara smiled as Nick walked over to her and placed a sweet kiss on her mouth.

"Thank you." He grinned at her.

Sara watched as he sauntered down the hallway, glancing over his shoulder and winking at her as he disappeared into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed Sara let out a contented sigh. Yes, she could definitely get used to this and there was something in her that wanted this in the worst way and as she tried to put her finger on it, she realized that she was pretty sure she was falling hard for Nick.


	20. Chapter 20

Natalie sensed that something was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it though; she wasn't sure if it was because Sara was feeling so much better or if Nick had been lying about being a perfect gentleman, in any case, it was all she could do to keep a smug smile from stealing across her face as she sat across the booth from Nick and Sara at the diner near the lab. Fiona was blissfully oblivious as she dug into a plate of hash browns and French toast; the French fries from the previous night had gone by the wayside in favor of some chicken noodle soup at Nick's since Sara's display had made Fiona feel a bit queasy.

"And when I get to Disneyland I get _Mickey Mouse_ French toast. Conner says they have mouse ears with your _name_ on them." Fiona sounded completely amazed that she just might get a pair personalized mouse ears.

"They do." Sara grinned at the little girl. "I used to have some with my name on them." She remembered one of the few happy memories she had of her family when somehow they had pulled together enough money and shut the bed and breakfast down long enough to take a 'family vacation' to Disneyland. It lasted all of 48 hours before her parents had started fighting.

Fiona's eyes widened. "You did?" She knew that Sara wouldn't lie about something so amazing; surely Uncle Nicky would only date an honest woman.

"Yes, I did." Sara had to restrain a giggle at just how excited Fiona was. It was times like that she was sure she wanted to be a mom, and yet there was a part of her that was scared she would end up just like her own mom.

Nick casually slung an arm across Sara's shoulders and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I bet you were cute in your mouse ears too." He waggled his eyebrows at her, imagining a much less wholesome image in his mind than Sara in a Minnie Mouse getup.

Sara did her best to keep her smile to a fairly low wattage as she looked back at Nick. "Did you ever have any mouse ears?" For some reason the question just sounded dirty in her ears even though it was a perfectly respectable question.

Nick seemed to sense it too as he whispered a little huskily. "I don't know; did you want me to?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and cleared her throat as she gestured towards a somewhat confused looking Fiona. "This a G-rated outing you two, and yes, Nicky had several pairs of mouse ears...in fact I remember when you were seven..."

"Hey, now there is no reason to be bringing that up." Nick was clearly embarrassed.

"You were seven?" Fiona looked at him skeptically that he could have ever been seven; he was far too old to have ever been seven.

"Everyone was seven once." Natalie began to explain as she tried to keep from laughing.

"Not me." Fiona furrowed her brow and shook her head as she considered that she wasn't even six yet.

"You will be." Natalie assured her trying to hide a smirk.

"When?" Fiona tilted her head a little; six seemed so far away that she couldn't even imagine being seven.

"Sooner than you think, honey." Nick grinned at her. "Now did any of you ladies need some more coffee or cocoa?"

"I think I'm more interested in hearing about when you were seven." Sara had a mischievous smirk on her face as she wondered exactly why the mere mention of the event had Nick nearly blushing.

Natalie had a victorious smile as she glanced over at Nick and then to Sara. "Well let's just say that after we went to Disneyland one summer, Nicky didn't seem to want to take his ears off." She snorted out a laugh as Nick shot her a less than amused glance. "Not even in the bathtub."

Nick narrowed his eyes at her with a warning look.

Natalie paid no heed to it and plowed right ahead. "There's a picture of him wearing the ears au natural."

"Can I get regular ears instead of ala mode ones?" Fiona looked perfectly serious and slightly panicked that there seemed to be more than one kind to be had at Disneyland.

"I'm sure your mom and dad will help you get the right ones, honey." Natalie soothed.

The idea of Nick wearing nothing but a pair of Mickey Mouse ears had Sara's mind delving into territory that brought a wicked smile to her face. While she wasn't sure she was ready to cross that particular line just yet, it didn't mean that her mind hadn't crossed it more times than she'd care to admit.

"Yeah!" Fiona was no longer worried that she might end up with ear ala mode. She glanced over at Nick and Sara and a big grin spread across her face. "Do you still have your ears?" She had only heard about the ears, she'd never actually seen a pair.

"No, I think your grandma has mine." Nick wasn't sure that was true, but he knew he certainly didn't have them anymore and his mom tended to be a bit too sentimental at times.

"What about you Sara?" Fiona looked at her expectantly.

Sara shook her head feeling a bit nostalgic and sad. "No, I think they've been gone a long time." Most of her childhood mementos were long gone.

"Does your mommy have them?" It seemed perfectly logical to Fiona that if her grandma had Nick's that Sara's mommy should have hers.

"Uh, no...no, she doesn't." There was a slight waver in Sara's voice and she desperately hoped that she could find a way out of this conversation before it even started. Nick knew about what had happened between her mom and dad; they'd spoken of it one time and she hadn't wanted to bring it up again.

Natalie noticed the change in Sara's countenance and she tried to herd the subject away from Sara. "Fiona, not all mommies keep everything." She smiled at the little girl who seemed satisfied with the explanation as she dove back in to eat the last little bit of French toast on her plate.

Sara felt Nick envelope her hand with his and she felt grateful that she didn't need to explain anything to Natalie or find an excuse to tell Fiona. She looked into Nick's eyes and an understanding seemed to pass between them even though they hadn't exchanged a word.

"I know!" Fiona sounded like she'd just struck gold. "We can bring you _new_ mouse ears!"

"Chels and Kevin _did_ say that they might want to swing back through Vegas so Conner and Aiden could see you, Nicky." Natalie couldn't hide the conspiratorial grin that spread across her face as she looked at Nick and Sara. "And Chels wouldn't mind meeting Sara either."

"So we _can_ bring you ears!" To Fiona it was a done deal and she practically squealed with delight.

"I think I might like that." Nick agreed, glancing over at Sara and imagining just what she might look like with nothing but her ears on.


	21. Chapter 21

"Natalie and Fiona loved you. I'm really glad that you had the chance to meet them, Sara." Nick was looking intently at her as they snuggled together on her couch, trying to stretch out this alone time together as long as possible. They had just gotten back from dropping Natalie and Fiona off at the airport and Nick knew that he should probably head home and get a few hours of sleep before shift began, but at the moment, he really wasn't feeling all that motivated to move away from Sara.

"Me too." She couldn't help it as her lips twitched up into a smile. Not just because she really had enjoyed meeting them, but because being tangled up with Nick on her couch felt like near bliss and she really didn't want him to leave.

"You know, I'm pretty certain that the rest of my family would love you too." There was something hanging there unspoken in the air; that maybe the reason he felt that way was because he loved her, but he wasn't sure he should say it quite yet.

"Is that so?" Sara could see something in his eyes that caused her heart to flip and she snuggled a bit closer to him. "How can you be so sure?" She wasn't sure why she was pressing the issue a little; maybe it was her insecurity and maybe it was just the whole line of conversation and the desire that she had to be a part of a family that would really love her.

"Because I know them." Nick swallowed hard and cinched his arms around her a little tighter. "And I know you." He knew exactly how he felt about Sara, but he just wasn't ready to say it, at least until he'd gathered up a little more courage.

"So do you think they'll bring you back some mouse ears?" Sara smirked at him. She had gotten Natalie to promise that she'd email the picture of Nick in the ears and his birthday suit and she couldn't help but tease him about it.

Nick smirked back at her, trying to stifle thoughts of her in nothing but Minnie Mouse ears personalized with her name. "I'm sure they'll bring you some too. And I'm also sure that we'll never live it down; knowing my sisters, they'll make a point of bringing us _both_ mouse ears."

"So exactly _how_ long did you wear those ears around anyway?" She had always envisioned Nick wearing a cowboy hat when he was a kid; the Mickey Mouse ears were something new.

"Why don't we let that drop for now?" He did not want to admit how long he'd worn them around; that information would come out eventually. He was more inclined to try and change her focus for a little while.

Sara was about to probe a little further about the embarrassing photo when Nick's lips pressed softly against hers and she forgot all about it for the moment. She was always surprised by how soft his lips were and as the kiss deepened, she had a fleeting thought about just skipping work altogether and spending some quality time making out with Nick.

They broke apart quite a few minutes later and an impish grin spread across Nick's face. "I could really get used to that." How he'd managed to keep from asking Sara out for five years was beyond him; and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give this relationship everything he had.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." It was clear from the tone in Sara's voice that she thought that was a good thing. Her brow furrowed slightly as a thought crossed her mind and she let out a soft sigh.

Nick registered the change in her expression and he wondered if he'd somehow done something, or if maybe she was having second thoughts about this whole thing. "Everything okay?"

"It's perfect." She tried to reassure him with a smile and then let out a soft laugh. "Really." She sighed again. "I just keeping thinking about how I should have never asked you what I did...that I don't think I really understood the implications of it all."

Nick looked at her a bit oddly, he wasn't sure he was following. "Oh." There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I mean if you had agreed to it; what would you have said to Fiona; how could you have possibly explained it to her?" There was a little catch in Sara's voice. "I think I was being really selfish wanting a baby with no strings attached." She let out another sigh. "I shouldn't have put you in that position of asking you that in the first place."

"Oh, Sara." Nick wished that he could have wiped away every memory of every man that had hurt Sara enough to make her doubt her worth in the first place that she thought the only way she could ever have a baby was to proposition one of her best friends.

"I should have just told you how I'd been feeling about you and given you the choice about whether or not you were interested in me." Sara felt like she was laying her soul out bare, but she didn't care any more. The only way that she was going to get what she really wanted in a relationship, what she wanted in life was to jump in with both feet and let things fall where they may.

"No." Nick shook his head; his brow furrowed. "I shouldn't have been such a coward. I should have told _you_ how _I_ feel about _you_." He smiled at her. "Life's too short, Sar; it's way too damn short." He let out a laugh laced with bitterness. "Of all people _I_ should know that."

The corners of Sara mouth twitched upwards. "So..." She cleared her throat a little. "Exactly _how_ do you feel about me?" She had a fairly good idea, but she wanted to hear it, no, she needed to hear it from Nick's mouth.

Nick looked completely serious as a smile spread across his face and he reached up and brushed a curl away from her face. "I'm in love with you, Sara...I think I have been for a long time, but I was too afraid to ask you out...especially, well...quite frankly because of Grissom." There was an instant of doubt that flashed across his face.

"Grissom." Sara huffed out in frustration. "Nick, I'm sorry that I was so fixated on him for so long that I almost missed what was right in front of me." She studied him for a moment and reached over and trailed her fingers down her cheek. "I hope you realize that I've moved on...he's not the one I want to be with, he's not the one that I'm in love with." A smile spread across her face as she watched the meaning of her words sink into Nick's mind. Sara's voice was a whisper. "I'm in love with you too, Nick."

"You know my mom always tried to convince me that the best kind of love grows out of friendship and I never believed her." He whispered against her lips. "I believe her now."


	22. Chapter 22

_**Three Weeks Later:**_

"So how are things going with Sara?" Warrick glanced over at Nick as he checked his gear over for the beginning of shift. He had been watching his two coworkers closely and so far they seemed to be keeping things professional at work, which made him wonder if things were going well outside of work.

"Good." Nick couldn't keep a thousand mega-watt smile from overtaking his face. "Really good in fact." And things were going well. Ever since he'd confessed to her that he loved her, it seemed to bring a quiet strength into their relationship that he'd never really experienced before. Knowing that Sara felt the same way about him just intensified that. And when his sister Chelsea and her family headed back to Dallas via Vegas, Sara even managed to withstand all of the ribbing about the mouse ears that Fiona had insisted that they buy for them. Apparently, Natalie had filled in a few more details than necessary.

"Hmm." Warrick wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He'd heard Nick talk about women like this, but he'd never felt as protective about one of them before as he did about Sara.

Nick didn't seem to pick up on the intent of Warrick's questions. He glanced over at him with a curious expression of his own. "You mind if I ask you something, Rick?"

"Yeah, sure." Warrick was buttoning up his work shirt and he only half noticed the nervousness in Nick's voice.

"Do you have any regrets...about marrying Tina, I mean?" Nick wasn't sure he was going to get away with this line of questioning without revealing his own hand, but he tried to keep the tone casual.

"Nah." There was one, but Warrick didn't really want to think about what might have happened with Catherine; he was with Tina, he loved her and he wasn't the kind of guy that would cheat on his wife.

"So you knew pretty quick then that you wanted to marry her." Nick seemed to be mulling something over in his own mind as he tried to remember exactly how long Warrick had dated Tina before they'd eloped at a drive-through wedding chapel.

Warrick's eyes narrowed as he studied Nick. "You're not thinking of asking Sara to marry you, are you?" It seemed ridiculous that that pair would know this soon; that Nick would presume that a woman who had been all but obsessed with Gil Grissom until just recently as far as he knew would be open to marriage. If it were him, he'd want to know for sure that she was over Grissom or he'd always wonder if he was a rebound. Well maybe that had something to do with the fact that he sometimes wondered if Tina was over her ex; someone that she saw everyday at work and it made him wonder at times if he was a rebound.

Nick looked unsure of himself, but he nodded. "I'm just thinking...thinking about it a lot actually." The smile on his face was both sheepish and filled with pleasure that he knew that Sara loved him and that he loved her and he was almost certain that he wanted to be with her forever.

Warrick looked at him with a little doubt. "You think that she'd say yes?" It wasn't that he didn't want to believe that it could happen, he just didn't want Nick to get hurt after all he'd been through this last year.

Nick let out a loud chuckle. "You apparently don't think that she would." He didn't want to show it, but he felt hurt that one of his best friends just couldn't seem to see what was clear as day to him.

"I didn't say that." Warrick's tone softened. "She's just been so into Grissom for so long, I just..." His words trailed off; there really was no need to articulate the rest of it.

"I know that, and we've talked about it. She's over him and she's in love with me." Nick smiled again, it felt good to tell someone that he knew that Sara loved him, and right now he felt like telling the whole world that he loved Sara too.

Warrick wanted to be happy for him, he really did. "Well, don't do what I did then."

Nick looked up at him quizzically.

"Don't elope. If you're going to marry her do it right; she deserves that." Warrick regretted the drive-through chapel, but he was committed to doing right by Tina. And besides, he wanted the opportunity to be there for his two friends when they took the plunge.

"I'm the one that condemned your elopement, remember." Nick jabbed back. He knew that whether Sara would admit it or not, she wanted it all, and he knew that he wanted to give it all to her. He would most certainly not elope with her, but it didn't mean he wanted to have a long drawn out engagement either, that is _if_ she said yes.

"So you're really serious about her." Warrick looked at his friend in admiration, he'd finally acted on feelings that he'd had for years and it looked like he was going to get what he'd been wanting.

Nick glanced around the room as if someone might be lurking in the shadows. "I bought her a ring." He wasn't sure he should tell him exactly when he'd bought the ring, he'd had it for a couple of weeks now and he'd known when he bought it that it was really too soon, but he knew he wanted to be with Sara, so he'd taken the plunge. He'd stood at the display of engagement rings at the jewelry store for a long time, studying each ring and wondering how Sara might react if he gave it to her. In the end, he'd walked out of the jewelry store with nothing, but later on that same day, he'd driven past another jewelry store and that's where he'd found 'the ring'. The princess cut diamond was flanked by sapphires and Nick knew immediately that it was meant for Sara.

Warrick let out a deep throaty chuckle. "Does she know that?" He was fairly certain that if Sara knew exactly how serious Nick was, that she'd have a panic attack and have a sudden urge to flee Las Vegas.

Nick shot him a withering glance. "Do I look that stupid?"


	23. Chapter 23

"I think I'd better go help Tina." Warrick gestured towards the kitchen where Tina had just waved him in to help her with something. He had a fairly good idea that she just wanted to talk to him about what she thought of Sara for Nick, but that was ok, he was in the mood for a little sweet kissing and moving into the kitchen would give him just such an opportunity.

"We'll be right here." Nick had his arm comfortably around Sara's shoulders and was glad for a few moments to be alone with her.

"Tina seems really nice." Sara commented as she snuggled a little closer to Nick where they sat on the couch; sliding her hand across his abdomen and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Nick had been doubtful initially when Warrick had announced that he'd eloped with Tina, but after getting to spend some time with the couple he had decided that Warrick had found a nice girl; in the back of his mind he wondered if under different circumstances his friend might have gone after Catherine, but her promotion to their supervisor had sort of derailed whatever seemed to be bubbling under the surface between them for years.

"This is nice." Sara couldn't help but relish in the moment; as corny as it seemed to her, this was their first real couple thing. She wondered if this was the first of many gatherings they'd have with other couples, or if she was just kidding herself. True, Nick had told her that he loved her, but no one had ever said 'I do' with divorce in mind either. The whole idea of where their relationship might be heading whether good or bad was scary.

"Yes, it is." Nick's voice was low and husky and he couldn't help himself as he leaned over and softly kissed her. He was pleasantly surprised that she seemed to reciprocate so freely right there in the middle of Warrick and Tina's living room. The kiss lasted far longer than he had intended, but he certainly wasn't complaining. As they pulled apart a long moment later, they were grinning at each other.

Sara was about to say something when a very distinctive voice drifted out of the kitchen.

"Tina, baby, you know I like it when you do that." Warrick's voice was a low sexy growl and it was rather evident that more than just cooking was going on in the other room. "Tina." Another groan drifted out from the kitchen.

Sara stifled a giggle and then arched a brow. "Do we really want to be eating whatever is cooking in there?" Clearly she hadn't thought about how that sounded until the words were out of her mouth.

Nick smirked at her and whispered conspiratorially. "I'm pretty sure what's cooking in there isn't on the dinner menu." He was happy for his friend, but hearing what was going on in the kitchen even if they thought they couldn't be heard was making him wish that he and Sara were truly alone.

Sara seemed to be thinking the same thing and she leaned over and kissed Nick rather eagerly, letting herself get lost in the sensation of his lips against hers and the feel of his strong manly body holding onto hers. She was fairly certain that Warrick and Tina would be in the kitchen for a while given the sounds coming out of Warrick so she was surprised when Warrick's low chuckle interrupted her thoughts and caused Nick to break off the kiss.

Nick smirked at Warrick as he just leaned back with his arm still around Sara. "We weren't sure how long you were going to be in there." His implication was clear as he arched a brow at Warrick.

Warrick looked at him oddly for a moment and then as what Nick was suggesting sunk in he belted out a laugh. "Tina was just working out a kink in my neck; I don't exactly show and tell when I've got company." He was amused at what Nick had thought he and Tina were doing in the kitchen and while it was true he'd spent some quality time kissing his wife, she'd spent some quality time trying to get the muscles in his neck and shoulders to loosen up a bit.

Nick looked like he'd swallowed the Cheshire cat. "And I was just showing my girlfriend how much I love her." He knew he should be embarrassed, but he wasn't one bit. He loved Sara and he wanted the whole world to know about it.

Sara's cheeks were a bit on the pink side. "Uh, does Tina need any help with anything?" She felt like she'd been caught making out by her big brother and at the moment, she wanted to be swallowed up by the couch.

"No, it's all good." Warrick smiled warmly at her. He knew that she'd been hurt by a lot of guys; they'd had plenty of time to talk about it working crime scenes together, but he also knew what Nick's intentions were and that she was in good hands.

Tina emerged from the kitchen bearing a dish of something that smelled heavenly and walked over to set it on the table, casting a glance in the direction of the other three. "You'll want to get this while it's warm; I've always thought it tasted best then." She had prepared a dish that had been her grandmother's own creation and had talked at length with Sara about it when she'd found out she was a vegetarian to make sure that there wasn't anything in the ingredients that Sara couldn't eat.

"That smells amazing, Tina." Sara smiled as Nick took her hand and helped her up from the couch. The innocent touches were the ones that made Sara's heart flutter the most; they were the most genuine and natural ones. It was the way he took her hand, brushed a curl away from her face, or just placed his hand at the small of her back that made her realize how much she craved those little signs of affection.

"And just wait until you taste it." Warrick had clearly had this dish before and judging from the way he was piling it onto his plate, he was prepared to eat whatever everyone else left in the serving dish.

"You keep eating like that Mr. Brown and I'm gonna have to put you on a diet." Tina seemed to be mild mannered at first, but as you got to know her you could tell that there was a spitfire in her waiting to get out.

Nick grinned as he dished up his own plate as a few things became clear; Tina was a lot like Catherine in her personality and that was probably what attracted Warrick to her in the first place. Any doubts he had about how that relationship was going to play out began to fade. He glanced over at Sara and wondered to himself just how things between them were going to play out. He knew what he wanted; he believed in it enough that he'd bought an engagement ring. What he wasn't sure about was what Sara would say. A sudden flurry of nerves hit him as he realized that if she had a change of heart, he would be crushed. As much as he knew she wanted a fairytale ending, he knew he wanted it too.

"So, Sara, what made you want to date Nick anyway?" Tina's question caught Sara by surprise.

Sara coughed.

"She couldn't resist my charm and good looks." Nick had a smug smile on his face as he tried to give Sara a moment to gather her thoughts. Neither of them ever wanted the way the subject of dating each other had come up to become public, but he knew they'd both been thinking about it a lot lately as they considered just when the right time to cross that line would be.

Sara let out a soft laugh and then looked over at Nick affectionately. "What's not to love?" She meant every word of it, she only hoped that he really felt what he'd said; that he truly loved her too. She had years of doubt about her worth to counteract and even Nick telling her that he loved her wasn't going to change that overnight.

"See I told you." Nick grinned broadly, but his eyes told Sara all she needed to know.

"That's only because I was already taken." Warrick puffed his chest out and shot Nick a patented big brother look as he slung an arm across Tina's shoulders. Even though he knew what Nick's intentions were, he was going to make it clear that there had better be some follow through or he'd make sure Nick answered to him; he was not going to let his friend Sara have another broken heart.


	24. Chapter 24

It was several weeks later when the unexpected happened.

Earlier plans to go out to dinner and a movie had changed when the movie Nick and Sara had wanted to see was sold out. So after a quick trip to the video store to pick up a couple of DVDs that neither of them had seen, they headed back to Nick's. It never even occurred to Nick that not tidying up his house before their date would have very interesting consequences.

That is until they walked in the door.

They were halfway to the couch when Sara stopped in her tracks and sucked in her breath suddenly.

Nick didn't even need to see where her eyes were riveted before he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew exactly what she was looking at and he was mentally kicking himself for being stupid enough to leave it sitting out in plain sight.

Sara wasn't sure what to say as she stood there; she couldn't seem to stop staring at the small red box sitting in the middle of his coffee table. She'd seen boxes like that before, mostly when she was a student at Harvard; and usually with people that were well moneyed. Someone making Nick's salary would not be shopping at Cartier unless he meant business. She felt like her heart was stuck in her throat and she didn't dare look at him in case she was imagining it all.

Nick enveloped her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. "You doing ok?" Despite his best effort, there was a bit of a waver in his voice and he was afraid that she might bolt from the room; that it was all too much too soon. He could tell that she knew exactly what was in that box.

Sara just nodded her head and then allowed herself to turn to face him. Her eyes searched his for an answer to the question she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Nick felt a wave of disappointment that this was happening now; that he didn't have the opportunity to make the moment extra special for her. "I didn't mean for this to happen quite like this." He pulled her with him over to the couch and settled himself in front of the coffee table where the box was.

Sara still hadn't said a word. There was a part of her that was sure that she was imagining all of this.

Nick felt a flurry of nerves as he reached over and picked up the box. "I knew that I wanted to be with you a long time ago and when we started dating, I realized that I wanted to be with you forever." He took a deep breath as he looked at her and he couldn't help but smile as her lower lip started to quiver.

Sara knew what was coming and she still couldn't believe it. "Nick." She had to slow this down before her mind went into complete overload. She let out a sniffle and then looked into his eyes. "I just need a minute. Just give me a minute...ok?" Her eyes pleaded with his to understand and then she pulled her hand out of his and made a beeline for the bathroom where the tears just let loose and started streaming down her face.

Nick felt confused as he waited for Sara to come out of the bathroom. He knew that she loved him, but as he held the small box in his hand, he suddenly wished he'd never bought the ring. He wasn't sure whether her running out of the room was an outright rejection of the proposal he hadn't quite finished, or if she was going to spend the entire night in there.

Sara could see the angst in Nick's posture as she finally emerged from the bathroom. She had needed those few minutes to get used to the idea that Nick had bought her an engagement ring and that he was trying to propose to her. Now however, she felt guilty that she'd left the room without really considering what it would do to him. He glanced up at her as she made her way over to the couch.

Nick was hopeful as he looked at Sara, there was a hint of a smile on her face and something else that he wasn't quite sure of, but at least she was looking at him. He cleared his throat a bit nervously. "I guess that was a little sudden..."

Sara sat down next to him and pressed a finger against his lips to silence him for the moment. "Yeah, it was." A smile stole over her face as she caressed his cheek. "I love you, Nick, and sometimes it scares me how much you seem to love me...I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to finish what you were trying to say."

Nick had an earnest expression on his face. "Do you want me to finish?" He knew he wanted to propose, but he was giving her an out in case she wasn't ready to hear him say the words. The last thing he wanted was for them to break up just because he'd proposed too soon. Deep down he knew that she wanted the same thing he did, he just wasn't sure she was ready for it.

Sara nodded; she wanted to hear those words more than she probably would admit. "Yeah, I do." The relief washing over Nick's face caused a flurry of butterflies to surge around in her stomach and as he took her hand in his, she held onto it for dear life.

Nick took a long moment as he considered what he was about to do. He'd never met a woman quite like Sara Sidle and after he'd met her, he found that the women he dated just seemed to be lacking something. It took him a long time to realize that it was because none of those women were Sara. He glanced over at her and smiled softly. "I love you, Sara. I love you like I've never loved anyone in my life. I know this probably feels way too soon; but I've been thinking about this for a while now." He flipped open the ring box to reveal the princess cut diamond flanked by sapphires. "Would you marry me?"

Sara sucked her breath in again as she stared at the ring; it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen simply because it had been picked out just for her. She couldn't seem to find her words for a very long moment as she continued to stare at the ring and then as she realized that Nick had asked her a question she looked up at him and nodded.

Nick chuckled in amusement at how flustered she seemed to be. "Is that a yes?" He was still feeling a little nervous because she still hadn't said a word, but given the expression on her face, he was fairly certain what her answer was going to be.

Sara nodded again. "Yes." Tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time because she knew that the moment was real and that Nick Stokes really loved her.

Nick leaned in and kissed her softly, savoring the moment and wanting to remember it forever. "I love you, Sar." Knowing that he was going to get to be with her for the rest of his life brought a wave of emotion over him and he found himself getting a little teary-eyed.

Sara just stared at her hand as Nick slipped the ring onto her finger. Even with it sparkling back at her, she was having a hard time processing that Nick had just asked her to marry him.

"I'm sorry the moment couldn't be more romantic." Nick wanted to explain to her that she deserved better, that he'd planned to do far better than this spontaneous proposal.

Sara shook her head even as she noticed the DVDs they were going to watch out of the corner of her eye. "No, this was perfect. It's perfect because I get to marry you."


	25. Chapter 25

Sara shifted her weight a little as she pulled back from where she was cuddled up next to Nick on the couch to look into his eyes. "Nick, I really don't want a big wedding." Sara was trying to explain to Nick how his idea of what she wanted and what she actually did want seemed to be two different things. She knew he meant well, but he had a lot to learn about women regardless of how many he had dated.

"You don't?" Nick looked a little surprised. In his mind he had imagined that Sara would want the sort of wedding that all five of his sisters had had. It had never occurred to him that she might want something a little less over the top. He was both relieved and a little disappointed.

A tentative smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "No, I don't." She let out a soft sigh and then reached over and brushed his hair out of his face. "In fact I'd be perfectly happy just eloping like Warrick and Tina did." The type of wedding didn't matter to her as long as at the end of it she was married to Nick.

Nick shot her a doubtful look.

"Ok, not the drive through part of it." Sara smirked a little.

Nick raised an eyebrow at her and cleared his throat. "So you _want_ to elope?" That surprised him a great deal. He had thought that she'd at least want a few friends and family there.

She shook her head and her smirk turned into a smile. "I didn't say that." She studied her hand for a moment, the sparkling of the diamond captivating her attention for a few long moments before she looked up at Nick again this time with a more serious expression. "I just don't see a point of having a big wedding when hardly anyone would be sitting on my side of the aisle." Her voice held a wistful resignation.

It began to dawn on Nick exactly what she was getting at. It had come out rather by accident as they were working a case together around Father's Day and after telling her what he was sending his dad for the occasion, he'd asked her what she was doing for hers. Sara had looked completely stricken, but after a moment she'd whispered to him that her father had died years before. He had dropped the subject then, but on the way back to the lab after they'd finished processing their scene, she'd felt compelled to tell him exactly what had happened and then explained that she had lost touch with her brother after they'd both been put in foster care.

Sara took his silence as a bad sign and felt a surge of doubt; he had a big family and of course he would want a big wedding. "But if you want a big wedding, we can have a big wedding." She would feel like a complete fool, but if it was important to Nick then she would do it. She only hoped that the rest of his family would accept her the way that Natalie and Chelsea had. Even Chelsea's husband Kevin and their kids had really seemed to genuinely like her.

Nick shook his head. "We need to have the kind of wedding that we _both_ want. That's what this is about; it's about us, Sar." He wished that he could go back in time and find some way to wipe out the hell that Sara had experienced in her home growing up and replace it with something a bit more idyllic.

"You really proposed to me, didn't you?" Sara glanced down at her ring again and couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face as she looked up at Nick.

"Yeah, I did." Nick's grin matched Sara's. "And you said yes." He still thought he was the luckiest man alive that she _had_ said yes and hadn't immediately bolted for his front door.

Sara giggled. "You know we haven't exactly talked about _when_ we should get married." She saw absolutely no reason to wait too long.

"When do _you_ want to get married?" If Nick thought Sara was really interested in eloping, he might consider it, but he also knew that she needed to have a day that was special and where she was the center of attention to look back on, whether she thought so or not.

Sara furrowed her brow as she mulled it over and then a tiny smile began to pull at her lips and a hint of pink flushed her cheeks. "What about Valentine's Day?"

Nick looked a little shocked. "That's only a couple of weeks away." He knew that his sisters had taken at least six months to plan their weddings, he couldn't imagine how you could pull it all together in two weeks, but then again, this was Vegas.

"I know." Sara hoped she wasn't pushing him to tie the knot sooner than he was ready, but he _was_ the one that had proposed to her.

"You're sure?" Nick wasn't against the idea at all, he just wasn't sure that he could get his entire family to show up for a wedding on a Tuesday.

"You think we should wait?" There was an edge of disappointment in her voice as she considered that maybe Nick wasn't as sure about marrying her as he said.

"No." Nick took a deep breath and pulled her closer as they cuddled together on the couch. "I just thought you would have wanted more time to plan that's all." He knew that regardless of the timing, most if not all of his family would rearrange their schedules to make it to his wedding; they'd been after him for years to settle down.

"But if we don't have a big wedding, there isn't much to plan...just the place and what we're going to wear." Sara was blissfully naïve about what was actually involved in planning a wedding.

Nick tried to hold his tongue. "I think it's a little more complicated than that..." He was about to start listing a few things, but thought better of it; there were times when Sara just had to figure it out on her own. "But if that's what you want, that's what we'll do."

"So will Valentine's Day work?" She didn't know why she felt so nervous about setting a date; perhaps it was because she felt a little like she was getting ready to step off of a cliff and had no idea if anything would break her fall.

"I think Valentine's Day is perfect." Nick leaned in and softly kissed her. His voice was a bit husky as he pulled away. "And I think you're perfect." He had a smoldering look in his eyes.

"You're pretty good yourself." Sara could think of no one that she'd rather spend the rest of her life with and she leaned in and gave him a kiss that was a bit longer than the one he'd given her.

Nick was rather encouraged that the DVDs seemed to have been forgotten and he leaned in and kissed her again. Sara seemed perfectly happy to trade slow dizzy kisses with him and as it became clear that neither one of them were putting on the brakes, things started to slowly heat up. A short while later, they were tangled up together on the couch in the middle of a rather heavy make-out session that had a singular destination in mind when both of their cell phones went off.

Nick let out a low curse as he fumbled around to find his phone. "Stokes. Oh, hey, Grissom." He glanced over at Sara who was flushed and who hadn't even made an attempt to reach for her phone and then he realized that even if she tried she'd have difficulty reaching it where it had ended up on the floor under the coffee table. "I thought so." Nick was not thrilled about being called in. "Yeah, she's here...I'll tell her. Yeah, we'll be there as soon as we can." He ended the call and tossed the phone on the floor.

"Work?" Sara sounded disappointed. She and Nick rarely had a night off together and she had really been looking forward to where things had been heading between them. They hadn't planned on waiting this long, but things had just worked out that way.

"Yeah." Nick leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss before resting his forehead against hers with an impish grin on his face. "I guess the naked wedding planning will have to wait until later."


	26. Chapter 26

"You want to what?" Warrick looked at Nick doubtfully as the news that he'd proposed to Sara and that they wanted to get married on Valentine's Day started to sink in.

"Sara wants to get married on Valentine's Day." Nick repeated with an amused smirk on his face. The surprised look on Warrick's face that he'd proposed to her and that she'd actually said yes made Nick think that perhaps Warrick's ears had been momentarily short circuited.

"I heard what you said, but this is Vegas and if I was willing to wager, I'd say that Sara isn't the type to get married the way that Tina and I did." Warrick regretted that; he wished that he'd taken the time to have a wedding that his friends could attend, but since his Grams had passed on and neither he nor Tina had much in the way of family, it had seemed like the logical thing to do at the time.

"She's not." Nick let out a chuckle. "In fact she specifically said that we'd have to get out of the car for our ceremony." Nick was a little nervous about trying to pull everything together so quickly, but Sara was stubborn sometimes and he'd learned after years of friendship that he needed to let her figure out certain things on her own.

"Doesn't make it any less legal." Warrick held up his left hand and flashed the band of gold surrounding his ring finger. He wondered to himself if he and Tina had taken the time to have a proper wedding if they'd have even gotten married at all. He loved her, but he didn't know her as well as he'd always thought he'd know his wife before he married her. He had a fleeting thought that maybe he should have taken a chance with Catherine when he had it, but her promotion and then him meeting Tina had turned the tide on that dream. He was just going to have to push out thoughts of what might have been and embrace what he already had. So far, he was having a good time and Tina seemed to adore him.

"Yeah, well, we're looking for something a little more than 'just legal'." Nick teased, still not sure what this wedding was going to look like and when they'd actually have time to plan it. At the current rate crimes were being committed in Vegas, they'd be lucky to have time for a drive through wedding.

"She does realize what she's getting herself into, doesn't she?" Warrick had known Nick for probably longer than any of the other CSIs and they were close friends; he had met many of Nick's family as they'd come through town and visited now and then and he knew that Sara really didn't have anyone. He wondered how she was going to fair being swallowed up by the enormous Stokes clan.

Nick looked at Warrick quizzically. "I'm gonna treat her right." He knew Warrick was pulling out the big brother card and he wanted to reassure him that his intentions were pure. He wanted to marry Sara and it wasn't a decision that he was taking lightly.

"I know you will." Warrick replied with a serious expression on his face. "I was talking about your family." He didn't need to go into detail about Sara's lack of family; they were all well aware that no one with the last name Sidle had come to visit in the nearly six years Sara had lived in Vegas. Even her friends from college seemed to be few and far between, having had similar all encompassing careers and not much motivation to take vacation.

A flicker of recognition dawned in Nick's eyes. "Oh, yeah, well, she did pretty well with my sisters when they were here in November and my parents were here last spring." He didn't mention exactly why they were in Vegas; he didn't really feel the need to bring up his ordeal since they all knew that the last time his parents were in town was because he'd been kidnapped.

"But she doesn't have a family." Warrick was thinking more about how he would have felt if Tina had as big of a family as Nick did; as it was, her only relatives were all on the other side of the country and he'd only met them once when they'd flown out east for a few days around New Years.

"Yeah she does." Nick smiled genuinely. "You guys are her family." He counted the people that he worked with as being almost closer to him than his family and he knew that when the chips were down that they'd always be there for him. He knew that was true for Sara too.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Nick and Warrick to glance up from the evidence they were sorting through. Catherine stood there with an arched brow and an amused smile. "If you two are done here, Grissom wants to have a pow wow to go over what we've got." The call for all hands on deck had put the team out to investigate a triple homicide and now they were down to sorting through what they'd collected at the scene in one of the layout rooms.

"Did Nick tell you his big news?" Warrick gestured towards Nick with one of those looks that said 'just wait until you hear this one'.

Catherine's interest was piqued. "News?" She had a fairly good idea what the news was given how distracted Sara had seemed at the scene earlier and she thought she'd seen something a bit sparkly on her finger. A smug smile spread over Catherine's face as she watched Nick's face light up.

Nick could tell that she already knew. "We're getting married." He couldn't stop his grin from growing even wider.

"Congratulations, Nicky." Catherine was genuinely happy for him; she had watched him go through his fair share and then some of girls she just didn't think were good enough for him. She'd even had doubts at first at how long he and Sara would last, but the idea had grown on her as she'd watched them together and she knew that they would balance each other out well.

"Thanks, Catherine." Nick looked rather pleased with himself as he began to place evidence they still needed to examine on one side of the layout table and that they'd already checked for possibility of trace on the other.

"Yeah, but just wait until you hear _when_ they want to get married." Warrick looked skeptical that they could pull off a wedding in less than two weeks.

Catherine glanced at Nick and just arched a brow expectantly.

"Valentine's Day." Warrick continued dryly.

"That's the week after next." Catherine looked at him doubtfully. "Are you planning on a drive through reception too?" She knew that to pull together a wedding in that amount of time even in Vegas would be quite the undertaking and she wondered if either Nick or Sara had any idea what they were up against.

Nick felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and shook his head. "No, Sara wants a real wedding, a small wedding, but a real wedding." He wondered to himself if maybe he could call in a few favors from his sisters for all of those disastrous blind dates they'd set him up on in exchange for a little footwork to help Sara out. Of course, that would mean he'd actually have to have called them to let them know that he was engaged; something that he and Sara hadn't quite gotten to before they'd been called in to work.

"On Valentine's Day." Catherine had a slightly worried expression on her face. "Do you have any idea what's involved in planning even a small wedding?" She would do anything she could to help out, but on such short notice even getting a dress would be a challenge.

"Well, that was the first date we had in mind." Nick sounded worried. "We haven't exactly had a lot of time to talk about it; I just proposed to her a few hours ago."

Just then the woman in question appeared in the doorway seemingly oblivious to the conversation she'd walked in on. "Hey, guys, Grissom wants to know what's taking so long." Sara smiled in Nick's direction and then the corners of her mouth twitched downwards as she noticed the expression on his face.

"I hear congratulations are in order, Sara." Catherine decided right then and there that it would be in everyone's best interest to try and help them make it happen rather than have Sara fall apart at a crime scene from the stress of wedding planning reality.

"Uh, thanks." Sara smiled in spite of the fact that Nick looked really worried and the sinking feeing she had in her own stomach.

"Valentine's Day, huh?" Catherine gave both her and Nick a reassuring smile as an idea formed in her mind. "I think I might just be able to help you out."


	27. Chapter 27

"But it's a small wedding; surely you have room for a small one." Sara sounded as if she was at her wits end as she spoke to yet another wedding venue. She let out a resigned sigh. "No, I understand. I'll keep that in mind." She hung up with a harrumph and glanced over at Nick.

"I take it that Chapel of the Frog Prince is booked." Nick smirked at her a bit tiredly. It had been the same story for the last three hours as Sara had called one chapel after another trying to find something that wasn't already booked for Valentine's Day.

"This is never going to work." Sara voice was beginning an ascent that would undoubtedly culminate in a complete melt down if she kept this up. "How are we going to get married if everything is booked?"

Nick thought that now was as good a time as any to break the news to her. "We could wait." He knew she had her heart set on the 14th, but after the phone conversation he'd had just a little while ago, it was probably for the best that they couldn't get married quite that soon.

"But I don't want to." Her pitch was slightly higher. "I don't want to take months and months to plan something that only lasts a couple of hours." She had never envisioned that it would be this hard to plan a wedding; and she hadn't even gotten to the part about picking out a dress yet.

Nick smiled in spite of himself and unfolded himself from the couch and walked over to where she stood in the kitchen. "We don't have to take months, but it's not looking good for it to happen on Valentine's Day." He furrowed his brow as he reached up and caressed her cheek.

There was something about his expression that gave Sara a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Why?" She could tell that there was something he hadn't told her.

"Well, for starters, my parents can't come." Nick explained gently, and then registering the confusion on Sara's face, he thought he should explain. "My dad said they have some cases on the docket for the state supreme court that he needs to be there for...if it was on the weekend, he said it would be no problem."

Sara's lips twitched upwards. "I suppose it would be important for them to be there." For some reason, Sara felt relieved at the prospect that she wasn't going to have to give up sleep to plan the wedding. As it was, Grissom had said he wasn't going to be able to give them both much vacation time with such short notice. Now maybe they'd get to have a real honeymoon too.

"Yeah, it would be really important." Nick grinned at her for understanding. "And a couple of my sisters were kind of mad at me for springing it on them so quickly." Yes, waiting a little while would be a good thing. There were the practicalities of getting married that they needed to talk through and figure out still; for starters, they had two households to combine and while he owned his townhouse, Sara was only renting.

"And it would be important for them to be there too." Sara was beginning to get an appreciation for how everything you did had some ripple effect on your family, and the bigger the family, the larger the ripples.

"They think so." Nick winked at her. "I think they'd give me an even harder time about getting married on such short notice than they did spending years trying to get me married off if they missed it." Nick slid his arms around her waist and leaned in and kissed the end of her nose. "So now that we have as much time as we need, where would you like to get married?"

Sara couldn't help but grin at him. "Anywhere but the Chapel of Intergalactic Love." The oddity of the case they'd investigated there together had put her off on ever wanting to get married in a cheesy chapel on the Strip.

"Well since we have it narrowed down then." He leaned in and softly kissed her. He couldn't think of anything he wanted more at that moment than to spend some quality time showing Sara some sweet love and then get some much needed sleep before they both had to be at work.

Sara smiled against his lips and enjoyed the exchange for a few moments before she pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. "You know, there is this one place that I really liked."

The expectation in her eyes made Nick stop and wait for her to continue.

"I really didn't want to get married on the Strip, but it's far enough removed from everything that I think it would still feel like it was a clapboard church out in the middle of nowhere." She nibbled her lower lip as she tried to read what Nick thought about the whole idea.

"You mean the Little Church of the West don't you?" Nick had seen the place numerous times as he'd driven past on the way to work a crime scene and he always thought it looked a little out of place given the gaudy nature of so many other chapels. It had occurred to him on more than one occasion that he wouldn't mind getting married there if he found the right woman; and now that he had, it seemed only natural to think of it.

"Yeah." Sara smiled at him and laced her arm around his neck. "There's just something about it that seems perfect for us." She too had noticed it mixed in with the casinos and other wedding chapels and thought that it seemed to be a spot of calm in the midst of the storm of lights and entertainment that was the heart of Las Vegas. She wasn't sure she had ever really envisioned herself getting married until this relationship with Nick happened, but in the back of her mind, she always wanted it.

"Then I guess we should find out when they have a date open and go from there." Nick felt relieved that she'd taken the news that they couldn't get married on Valentine's Day so well. He wanted something memorable and he knew that she did too and he was more than willing to wait for it.

"Can we wait until tomorrow?" She tilted her head slightly as she studied his lips; wedding planning could wait, right now all she wanted was to be with Nick.

"We can wait." Nick ducked his head and kissed her, a little surprised the she pulled away so quickly, at least until he noticed the look in her eyes.

Sara had a sultry smirk on her face. "I have a little something that I want to show you...but you need to stay right here for a minute...ok?" She had been formulating this idea in her mind for a while now and she was glad that she was finally going to be able to put it into action.

As Sara stepped away, Nick watched her with interest. "I'll be right here." He wondered exactly what it was she wanted to show him as she disappeared into her bedroom and shut the door. His imagination began to take over when she didn't immediately come right back out. He was about to go knock to see if everything was ok when the door opened.

Sara stood there in a rather sexy combination of silk and lace that made Nick glad he was a man. She leaned her shoulder against the door frame and with a sexy smile she crooked a finger at him.

Nick's eyes widened as he drank in the sight of her and then as he stepped towards her he let out a soft chuckle, remarking just before he gathered her in his arms and kissed her. "That's a very _little_ something and I like it a hell of a lot."


	28. Chapter 28

Sara mumbled a bit sleepily. "So you liked the outfit, huh?" She knew that he would, she'd remembered from a conversation they'd had a long time ago that he liked lace and when she saw this little number a few weeks before, she knew that he'd love it.

"Too bad it didn't stay on you long." Nick smiled as he peppered kisses along her shoulder. They lay spooned under her comforter and to say that being with her was amazing was an understatement. The lingerie had only been the icing on the cake and he definitely liked it.

Sara smiled contentedly as she ran her fingers up and down Nick's arm which was draped over her waist. "You didn't seem to think it was a bad idea at the time." From the moment he'd kissed her until just a little while ago everything was a blissful blur. All she knew was that knowing that someone wanted to be with you forever made everything just that much better.

Nick's laugh reverberated through his chest. "Well I have to admit, I _do_ like you better naked." There was a teasing tone in his voice as he spoke again. "Too bad they don't have a _naked_ wedding chapel."

Sara tried to mask her giggle with a groan not too successfully. "I'm sure that someone's already tried it and I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea." She was reveling in the sensation of full length of Nick's body pressed up against hers and she wasn't so sure they were going to be getting any sleep before they had to go to work.

"I don't know...seems like a pretty good idea to me." To emphasize his point he began to nibble at her neck as his fingers fanned out and began to caress her abdomen. He was certainly not in any hurry to go to sleep; he'd wanted to be with Sara for a long time and now that they were here, he couldn't seem to get enough of her.

Sara let out a snort as she felt something rather distinctive pressing into her butt. "Uh, no, I'm pretty sure it's a _bad_ idea..." She cleared her throat and reached back and slid her hand down his hip. "Case in point..." She wasn't complaining at all about their current situation or Nick's obvious arousal. Tired or not, she wanted to savor every touch.

Nick's drawl was a little lazy. "Ok, so it definitely wouldn't be a PG rated wedding...and we couldn't have any guests." He nibbled at her ear. "And I suppose I wouldn't want anyone _else_ to see you naked."

"Greg already has." She knew that it would take him a minute to remember the fact that she'd have to had a decontamination shower at a crime scene that both she and Greg were working; Greg has assured her that he'd kept his eyes closed and hadn't seen anything, but she had seen it all.

"Huh?" Nick stopped cold and then as he realized what she was talking about he started to tickle her. "Sara, he had his eyes closed...he told me all about it." Indeed Greg had told Nick all about it; he had been afraid that if Nick had gotten wind of the event that an interrogation would have taken place even if it was way before Nick and Sara had started dating each other.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Sara's smirk was obvious in her tone and she glanced over her shoulder at Nick and couldn't help but smile. "But trust me, he's got nothing on you, baby." She didn't know if Nick had doubts about his manhood, but she wanted to make very certain that although he wasn't perhaps the largest she'd ever been with, he was certainly more than adequate and his technique made up for anything else he might think he lacked. Sara was more than satisfied.

"It's good to know where I rate." He had a smirk on his face right before he leaned in and kissed her. If he had any doubts before about what she thought of him, those were pretty much erased in the way that she'd responded to him while he made love to her. He had known Sara a long time and she had a tendency to be transparent when it came to her emotions and he knew that this whole experience had been just as special for her as it had been for him.

Sara turned in his arms to face him and mumbled against his lips. "You're the only one on my list." She let herself get lost in the sensation of Nick's lips against hers and the feel of his body sliding against hers as it pressed her back into the mattress. No, they were definitely not getting much sleep at all.

Several hours later after another blissful encounter and some much needed sleep, Sara blinked her eyes open and smiled, nestling her head in the crook of Nick's neck. She was happier than she'd been in a very long time and she snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes again.

"You sleep good?" Nick's drawl was thick as he began to trail his fingers down her back. He only wished that they didn't have to get up and go to work soon; he would have been more than happy to spend the rest of the day in bed with Sara.

"Mmhmm. You?" Sara lifted her head to look at him, still finding all of this new and wonderful.

His wide grin answered her question.

"What time is it?" Sara was suddenly aware of the fact that they both had jobs that they probably should be getting to. The last thing she wanted was to get into the habit of getting to work late because they were too busy having sex; that was something she was sure Grissom wouldn't tolerate much of.

"Probably time to get up." Nick really had no idea, but the last time he'd looked at a clock, they still had a couple of hours. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I should probably call my parents and tell them we've decided to wait to have the wedding until they can be there." Hopefully, his mom would call his siblings as well and stop any travel plans; something that it no occurred to him he should have done before he and Sara got rather distracted.

"Yeah." Sara let out a yawn. "You know I never did ask Catherine what it was she thought she could help us with." She smiled at Nick who had started trailing his fingers down her cheek. "I hope she didn't intend to ask Sam Braun for help." There was no respect in the lab for the casino owner, even if he was Catherine's father.

"I'm sure she wouldn't." Nick reassured her although he really wasn't sure. "She probably knows what to expect that's all...I mean she was married once." He made a mental note to ask Catherine what sort of help she was offering as soon as they got to work.

"Didn't she get married in one of the chapels on the Strip?" Sara grimaced. Even though the church she had mentioned to Nick looked nice, it still was on the Strip and she was beginning to have doubts about it. With more time to plan, maybe she needed to think about it a little more and see what other options were out there for people who just wanted to have a normal wedding with a normal reception; in the back of her mind, she was sure that Nick's family would probably appreciate that too.

"I'm not really sure...she doesn't really talk much about Eddie these days and when I started at CSI Lindsey was about three and they were already separated." Nick couldn't imagine why anyone who found someone they wanted to spend the rest of their life with would ever consider cheating on them the way that Eddie had on Catherine and he felt a sudden urge to reassure Sara.

Sara slid an arm across Nick's waist and snuggled closer; she was definitely not ready to get up just yet.

"Sar?" Nick waited until she looked up at him. "You will be the _only_ woman for me for the rest of my life...I just wanted you to know that." He wanted to make sure that she knew he never intended to hurt her the way so many other guys had; he wanted her to know that she was worth being treated right.

Sara knew what he was inferring and she appreciated the gesture. "I know, baby, I know...and you're the only one for me too."


	29. Chapter 29

Catherine approached Sara with a bit of trepidation as she entered the locker room just before shift. She had offered to help Nick and Sara with their wedding plans, but even with her connections, Valentine's Day in Vegas at this late date was booked solid and she had no intention of asking Sam Braun for anything; it was bad enough that she felt he thought he had strings tied to her. "Hey, Sara."

Sara glanced up and couldn't hide the satisfied smile on her face; despite postponing the wedding and getting hardly any sleep, she was feeling very, very good. "Hey, Cath."

"How are the wedding plans going?" Catherine thought she'd ease into the subject and try and break the news gently. She wondered to herself if Sara had somehow managed to snag some open facility given the smile on her face, but as she took a second look, the corners of her mouth twitched up; she knew exactly what that kind of smile was from.

"We're going to postpone it actually." Sara looked rather relaxed for someone who less than 24 hours ago was firm about the date to the point that she'd worked herself up into a virtual tizzy.

"Oh?" Catherine looked at her curiously; this was definitely not something that she'd expected, but then again it would give Nick and Sara that much more time and maybe she'd be able to help after all.

"Well, absolutely every place I called was booked." Sara rolled her eyes slightly, now feeling a bit cheesy that she'd wanted to get married on Valentine's Day to begin with. "And Nick's parents wouldn't have been able to make it on such short notice." Sara continued as Catherine quirked an eyebrow at her. "His dad said that there were several cases on the docket and he needed to be there for them...I suppose that's the price you pay with a justice in the family." Sara smirk turned into a smile at the idea that she was really going to be a part of a family and they all seemed to be excited about her becoming a Stokes too.

Catherine had to admit to herself that there seemed to be a transformation in Sara over the last couple of months; she never would have expected to see her light up quite like this. "So have you set another date then?"

Sara shook her head. "No, not yet." She let out a soft laugh. "Nick's still trying to get in touch with the people he's already told to tell them we're not getting married next week, and there were still a few people that he was trying to get a hold of to tell them that we were even engaged."

Just then the man in question burst in the locker room with a huge grin on his face. "Ok, so I told my parents that we were going to wait and my mom came up with a great idea." For the first time Nick noticed Catherine and he offered a smile in her direction as she smiled in amusement at him.

Sara sincerely hoped that Nick's mom's idea wasn't having this wedding in Texas, because the last thing she wanted on top of planning a wedding was having virtually no control over it. She liked the members of Nick's family that she'd met so far, but she was sure that she didn't know any of them well enough to plan it for her. "Oh?"

Nick noticed the expression on her face and realized that as much as he thought it was a good idea for his mom and sisters to help her, this was something that Sara really wanted to do on her own. "Well, my parents belong to a country club in Dallas and they have a reciprocating agreement with several of the country clubs here in Vegas...she just thought if she made a few phone calls we might be able to book the wedding at one of them, but if you'd rather have it somewhere else..." His words trailed off as he waited for her response.

Sara felt relief and then a smile spread across her face as she realized that no one wanted to take over; at least yet, and truth be told, she could use the help. "No, I think that's a great idea...I guess we just need to find a date."

"Well I've been thinking about that and I think I may have a solution." Nick had a boyish grin on his face.

"Ok." Sara was curious what he had up his sleeve. Catherine had quietly disappeared as the pair continued to talk.

"When does the lease on your apartment end?" The idea had occurred to him when they were driving in to work that morning in separate vehicles because he had needed to swing by his house on the way in to get a change of clothes. If they were getting married they didn't need two places to live and since he owned his townhouse, it just made sense for Sara to move in with him as soon as her lease was up.

"The end of March I think, or maybe the first of April." She silently hoped that Nick wouldn't push for April Fools Day, she considered herself flexible, but she had to draw the line somewhere.

"Perfect." Nick's smile widened into a grin; he'd thought that it would be ending soon given that he'd helped her move into that apartment the year before and it had been right after the NCAA basketball playoffs had wrapped up. "How about the 18th of March then? It's a Saturday and it should give us enough time to get your stuff moved over and the apartment cleaned out before the end of the month."

"March 18th." Sara mulled over the date in her mind, glad for the fact that St. Patrick's Day wasn't on Saturday and simply smiled at Nick. "That sounds good...I guess as long as we can get the wedding booked for that date."

Nick interrupted. "I actually took the liberty and suggested that mom look into that...she just called back...and they have the date available at Red Rock Country Club in Summerlin." He really hoped that she thought it was a good idea; he had been there a time or two when his dad had visited and taken him out for a round of golf. The way the reddish hills served as a backdrop made him think that Sara would love it.

Sara's brows arched in surprise and she felt a flutter in her stomach. "Summerlin?" She'd never imagined that she'd get married, let alone in the exclusive area of Summerlin. She knew the area well; despite the affluence of its residents the CSIs had been called out there more times than one might think.

Nick mistook her surprise for hesitation. "But if you don't want to, we don't have to. I told her that I'd have to ask you about it and that you'd probably want to take a look at the grounds where we'd have the wedding..."

Sara cut him off. "No, it's perfect, Nick, really." She smiled at him and then stepped towards him and softly kissed him for a brief moment before grinning at him and closing her locker. "I just never imagined that I would get married at a country club in Summerlin that's all.

"Me either." He'd always assumed he'd be getting married at home in Texas to someone that one of his sisters had managed to set him up with, but to get married here to Sara was so much better than anything he could imagine.

Panic hit Sara all of a sudden and it was reflected in her voice. "I need to get a dress." She had been so consumed with finding a place to have the wedding that she had completely forgotten about all of the other details. She didn't really consider herself a candidate for 'What Not To Wear', but she didn't see herself as a fashion guru either and a wedding dress was almost too much to think about because all eyes were going to be on her come March 18th.

Nick resisted the urge to laugh at her and instead pulled her into a quick hug and whispered in her ear. "I'm pretty sure that Catherine would be happy to help you with that."


	30. Chapter 30

The detail of the dress ended up coming together beautifully despite Sara nearly having a complete meltdown in the middle of the crime scene they all worked that night which just happened to be at a bridal shop. She was so worked up about whether or not she was going to be able to find a dress in time, Grissom ended up sending her and Catherine off to get the task done so that the rest of them could focus on the task at hand. Nick had gotten quite the ribbing from both Warrick and Greg about the whole situation until Grissom had shot them all a look and muttered that he wasn't working the scene alone.

Now here it was close to the end of shift and Nick was waiting for fresh coffee to brew because it looked like he was going to be pulling a double when Sara closely followed by Catherine came walking purposefully down the hallway and into the break room. Judging from the expression on her face, Nick hoped that the search for the dress was over. He quirked an eyebrow at the ladies. "How was the shopping trip?"

"Well considering that even Vegas doesn't have 24-hour bridal shops, we did pretty well." Sara had a rather smug expression on her face.

"So did you get a dress?" Nick was confused; if there weren't any bridal shops open all that time, then what had Sara and Catherine been doing all this time?

"Oh, she got a dress." Catherine looked rather smug herself; when she had informed Sara that they only had an hour until most if not all of the bridal shops in town would be closed, she had suggested that they hit the Forum Shops which _were_ open all night and see if they could find something there instead. It was in the sixth store they'd gone in where they found success. Catherine had pulled a Dolce & Gabbana gown off the rack and Sara's eyes had widened. It was simple, elegant and looked like it was made for Sara. Even though it wasn't designed as a wedding gown, no one would have said it anything but when Sara tried it on.

Nick glanced over at Sara to see if she was going to tell him about the dress or leave him hanging; from her expression he could tell it was the latter of the two. "So do I get to see it?" He was hopeful that maybe she might model it for him later on.

Sara smirked at him mischievously. "No, you _don't_ get to see it; you're just going to have to wait until the wedding." She cleared her throat and arched her brows. "But I _did_ get something that you _can_ see." She took a step towards Nick who was now pouring a fresh cup of coffee and she was intent on stealing it from him.

Nick seemed oblivious as he finished filling the cup and replaced the carafe. "And what's that?" He went to reach for the cup, but found that Sara had already stolen it from him. With a smirk on his face he reached for another cup and glanced over at Catherine. "Cath, would you like some too?"

"I'd love some, Nicky." She smirked back and gladly accepted the cup of coffee before Nick finally got one of his own.

Nick eyed Sara over his cup of coffee. "So are you going to tell me what you got that I _can_ see?"

Sara looked positively impish as she raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't know...I was sort of hoping to show you when we were alone."

Nick's expression brightened. "Is it anything like what you showed me last night?" He had found her lingerie rather sexy and anything anywhere close to that would a surprise he'd love to have her show him.

"So you liked what I showed you last night?" Sara had a sultry tone to her voice and she moved towards Nick intent on teasing him a little.

"You know I did." Nick's voice had taken on a rather husky quality. "Is it sexy?"

"Ok, I think this is my cue to find Grissom and get and update on the case." Catherine interjected with an amused chuckle. She whispered conspiratorially to Sara as she walked out the door. "Break it to him gently, Sara."

Nick was confused as he glanced after Catherine and then back at Sara. "Break it to me gently?" He had high hopes for something sheer and lacy and he suddenly doubted that this was what Sara was talking about.

Sara smiled softly at what seemed to be his one track mind and leaned up and gave him a brief kiss. "I bought you a wedding ring...I wanted it to match mine and after I found the dress I mentioned it to Catherine and so we just kept shopping." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring box, tilting her head quizzically as she tried to read Nick's reaction. "Uh, do you want to try it on?" She really hoped that he didn't mind that she'd picked out his ring; he hadn't said he wanted to do it together.

Nick was speechless for a moment. "You bought me a ring?" There was pride in his voice that she'd gone and done something like that; and as soon as he opened the box he knew that the ring was perfect. It was just a simple band that had a few details that seemed to blend well with her ring. He pulled it out of the box and let her slip it onto his finger to see if it fit.

"I just guessed on the size...but after last night especially, I couldn't get your hands out of my mind." She spoke softly, glad that they were alone for the time being.

"My hands, huh?" He pulled her into a hug and nuzzled her ear. "If that's the only body part that left an impression on you, I wasn't as good as I thought."

Sara blushed and whispered back. "Oh, you were good; trust me, you were amazing." Every fantasy that she'd ever entertained about Nick paled in comparison to the real thing, but as good as _that_ was, his hands were what left an impression on her. She had watched those hands over the years do so many things. She had images in her mind of the deliberate control his hands had as they meticulously processed crime scenes; of the strength in his hands as he'd tried to wrestle a towel rack off of a wall; and the gentleness of his hands as he'd held Cassie McBride's in the hospital. Last night though, his hands had taken on a whole new life to her and she would never look at them quite the same.

Nick's drawl was thick. "You were pretty amazing yourself darling." If they weren't standing in the middle of the break room right then he might have been tempted to just show her exactly how amazing he thought she was. But since he knew that they were both needed on the case, he dropped a gentle kiss against her lips and let her go.

"So do you like the ring?" Sara looked at him earnestly; she'd never picked out jewelry for a man before and this was a pretty important piece; she didn't want to get the wrong thing.

"I love it, Sar." Nick grinned at her and then pulled the ring off and put it back in the box. "Although I suppose I'm not really allowed to keep that until _after_ the wedding though."

"Probably not." Sara practically glowed back at him. "But I wouldn't mind if the whole world knew that you were already taken."


	31. Chapter 31

March 18th dawned bright and clear and temperatures promised to swell into the 90s. Despite a few more near melt downs on Sara's part and Nick nearly hyperventilating at the tux fitting at the reality that he was actually getting to marry Sara, they'd made it to their wedding day; all of the details that had at first seemed insurmountable were now behind them. All they had to do was show up at the country club, walk down the aisle and say 'I do'.

If only it could have been that easy.

Sara woke up feeling sick to her stomach. Despite her rationalization that she was just nervous, she had one little nagging doubt. She rarely got sick for reasons other than the smell of decomposing flesh and she knew herself well enough to know that it sure as hell wasn't food poisoning either. By the time the ceremony was about to begin Sara was seriously wondering if she was pregnant. It was definitely possible; she and Nick had never bothered to use any protection and there had been plenty of opportunities for her to get pregnant; once they'd started having sex they couldn't seem to get enough of each other. If she _was_ pregnant she wasn't going to be disappointed since they both wanted children, Sara had just thought it would take longer than this. Her wedding day was not the day that she hoped to find out that she and Nick were going to have a baby.

Thankfully, everyone else just thought that she was nervous and despite feeling sick she looked beautiful. The Dolce & Gabbana gown made her a vision that made Nick's mom cry when she saw her. Jillian Stokes had thought this day might never come; especially after Nick was kidnapped. Now she was just so thankful to welcome Sara into the family.

Too soon the music announcing that it was her turn to walk down the aisle came and as she slipped her arm through the tux clad arm of Jim Brass who had gladly agreed to give her away, Sara put on a brave smile and walked forward.

The rest of the ceremony was a bit of a blur.

Nick's grin was ever present and she recalled smiling through tears as Warrick sang a song he'd written for his two friends. She even had a recollection of exchanging vows with Nick and sniffling a little as he slipped the ring onto her finger. And then the minister was pronouncing them husband and wife and after one of the most mind numbing kiss she'd ever had, everything started to spin.

Sara blinked her eyes open to find a worried looking Nick hovering over her and the wedding guests crowded around looking equally worried. She closed her eyes and groaned. "Please tell me this is a dream." Sara was completely mortified that she'd passed out on the way back down the aisle.

"Sar, are you ok? You had me worried there for a minute." Nick gently helped her to sit up and then waved everyone to step back to give them some room.

No one really seemed to notice until Jim Brass stepped in. "Let's give them some air; step back everyone." The authoritative tone in his voice seemed to work as the guests made up of Nick's family and their close friends widened the circle.

"I just felt really dizzy." She was still feeling light headed and considering the heat and the fact that she'd spent more time throwing up than keeping any food down it wasn't really all that surprising.

"Do you think you can make it inside?" Nick was helping her up now and slipping his arm around her waist intent on carrying her to the ballroom where they were having the reception if necessary. Neither one of them was really paying attention to anything but each other.

"Yeah." She was determine to not pass out again and at that moment she couldn't wait for the wedding to be over so she could tell Nick what she suspected was the cause of her dizziness.

Nick let her get about two steps before he scooped her up and carried her anyway. In response to her curious glance, he smiled at her. "I just didn't want to take any chances."

Once they were inside away from prying eyes, he settled her in a chair in a corner of the room and sat down in a chair across from her. "You sure you're ok? One minute we were walking down the aisle and the next I almost didn't catch you." His brow was deeply furrowed.

Sara didn't really want to have the conversation that she really needed to have with him right there. "I guess I just didn't eat enough..." But she knew if she didn't tell him more that he would make her eat and given the way she was still feeling, food was the last thing she wanted right then. "I'm not feeling very good."

"Let me go get you something to eat." Nick glanced over where the buffet had been set out for the reception.

"Nick, no." Sara stopped him by holding onto his hand and looked directly into his eyes. "I really don't think eating right now would be a good idea." She really wasn't sure how she was going to break the news to him or how he'd react. But then again, she had a very small window of opportunity before all of the guests made their way into the reception and somehow she didn't want to be the only one in the room that knew her secret.

"But, Sara, if you haven't eaten, maybe you'd feel a little better if you had a little something to eat." Nick knew she wasn't very good at taking care of herself and he had determined in his mind that he would do his best to make sure that _he_ took care of her.

Sara took a deep breath and just blurted it out. "I think I might be pregnant." It came out a little louder than she'd intended but thankfully the guests were just starting to stream into the room and she didn't think anyone but Nick had heard what she said.

"What?" Nick was dumbfounded; he knew they'd never bothered to use any protection, but this news on this day in particular was a bit of a surprise.

Sara lowered her voice and looked into his eyes. "I said I think I might be pregnant...I think that's why I'm not feeling good." She knew there were plenty of other reasons why she might not be feeling well, but the fact that her period was overdue was another factor that pointed towards the conclusion she was making.

Nick's eyes widened. "Are you serious? We might be having a baby?" He couldn't contain his excitement at the prospect of becoming a father and he was tempted to just jump up and let out a whoop and tell the whole world.

"Nick." Sara whispered. "I'm not a hundred percent sure...let's not say anything until we're sure." The thought occurred to her that their wedding really wasn't the proper time or place to make that kind of announcement anyway.

Nick leaned in and kissed her, smiling as he pulled away. "Ok, I won't say a word. Now what do you say we go greet our guests?" In the back of his mind Nick decided that after the reception a little trip to the drug store to pick up a couple of pregnancy tests was in order before they left for their honeymoon.


	32. Chapter 32

"Maybe we should get another one." Nick blurted out as the results sunk in. He'd heard about false positives before; there could be false negatives too. Surely not every pregnancy test was perfect; wasn't that why women went to the doctor's office to make sure?

Sara looked up at him and arched a single brow. "Nick, we've done three of these now and I don't have to pee anymore." She let out a harrumph and flopped back onto the bed still clad in her wedding dress with a makeshift fan of three pregnancy tests clutched in her hand. She had been so excited at the prospect of being pregnant that the two minute wait to see whether there would be a plus or a minus on the strip seemed to take forever; at that moment she clearly understood the concept of time standing still.

"But they could be wrong." There was a part of him that was convinced that they'd just happened to buy three faulty tests; perhaps if he'd bought the fourth brand the drug store sold, they would have gotten different results. Of course the logical CSI part of his brain knew that these tests were pretty much all the same and it was quite likely that _he _was thinking faulty. Just because he wanted something so badly did not make it so.

"Nick they're the same brand they use in the morgue...I'm not pregnant." For some reason she was both relieved and disappointed. She very much wanted to have a baby with Nick, but nagging at her in the back of her mind was something she once asked Grissom. If there was a murder gene she certainly didn't want to pass it on to some unsuspecting bundle of joy; she just didn't want to tempt fate. She wanted to believe that she could be a good mother, but there was part of her that wasn't sure that someone that never saw an example of what a good mother was could actually be one.

Nick sprawled out next to her on the bed, his bow tie loosened a bit and his jacket long since shrugged off. As he glanced over at her he realized that this wasn't exactly the way he'd imagined his wedding night would be. They seemed to be more focused on whether or not Sara was pregnant than on what the more typical wedding night activities usually were. He rolled onto his side and slid his hand across her abdomen letting it come to rest on her hip. "Are you disappointed?"

Sara had to think about that for a minute as she reached up and trailed her fingers across his chin. "A little...I just wasn't expecting _that_ quite this soon...I guess I don't have to worry about it now...at least for a while." The reality that she and Nick were actually married began to sink in.

Nick waggled his eyebrows suggestively and whispered conspiratorially. "You know...we _could_ do something about that." This _was_ their honeymoon and he had been rather distracted by her in that dress all day long and until she'd shared her little tidbit of news, he'd been imagining all the ways he could get her out of it once they were alone.

Sara giggled and then a more serious expression crossed her face as something occurred to her. "Do we want to do this..." Her cheeks reddened a bit as Nick raised a single eyebrow in amusement at her question. "I mean, do we want to start trying right away?" There was a very selfish part of her that just wanted to be with Nick for a while and just enjoy the fact that he was her husband. She wanted to be able to plan ahead for this the way she had for so many things in her life; but ironically as she thought more about it, most of the best things in her life had happened as a result of an impulsive decision.

Nick let out a deep breath and scooted a bit closer to Sara. "I want kids, you want kids...but I married you because I wanted to be with you; because I'm in love with you, Sara. We have plenty of time to think about a baby." He leaned over and brushed his lips softly against hers and then sort of hovered over her as he pulled back slightly. He wanted to remember this moment for the rest of his life; the way her hair fanned out against the bedspread, the way that dress of hers accentuated her in all the right ways, and the way her eyes looked back into his with such a love that he didn't know how he ever deserved it.

Sara brushed his lips with her fingertips and then started to ramble a bit. "I don't want you to be disappointed that I'm not pregnant...you seemed disappointed." For some reason, Sara felt like she needed him to reassure her that if they never had children that he wouldn't regret being with her. As much as she wanted a baby, she wanted to be loved by someone more.

"I'm not completely disappointed." Nick had a husky quality to his voice as a smile flitted across his face. "I was sort of looking forward to it being just you and me for a little while...but when you told me that you might be pregnant, I really wanted it to be true because I know how much you want a baby." He hoped that he was explaining himself ok. He wanted kids just as much as she did, but he didn't want her thinking that he was disappointed in her for something that was completely beyond her control.

Sara smiled at him. "You know a while back you told me that you thought I wanted the whole package; to find someone who loved me that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and that if I settled for anything less I'd be disappointed. I think I knew then that I wanted to be with you...that if I ever have a baby I wanted it to be with you. I never knew that I could love someone as much as I love you." Her voice was a whisper at the end.

Nick leaned in and softly kissed her and whispered against her lips. "I love you too." Whispers and kisses gave way to caresses and touches and ended up in bliss all tangled up in the sheets.

In the afterglow, Sara whispered in the darkness. "Would you ever consider adoption...if we found out we couldn't have kids?" For some reason her thoughts had drifted to Cassie McBride and others like her who woke up one day in their own personal hell completely alone in the world much like she had. There was a part of her that felt drawn to that kind of pain; there was a part of her that felt like she could help infuse hope in the midst of it because of the journey she'd been on.

"We'll have kids, Sar...I'm sure that with all the excitement of the wedding and everything that it just messed with your system." He planted a kiss on her shoulder and pulled her a little closer.

"But what if we don't...there aren't any guarantees in life; do you think you could ever love a child that wasn't yours?" Sara just couldn't let it go; she had been that child herself and after her mom had killed her dad, she just wanted to be part of a family that loved her. It had taken a really long time, but she'd finally found that with the Stokes.

Nick was quiet for a long moment. "I've thought about it...there are so many kids we've come across in the course of different investigations and I wonder to myself if there was anything I could do to make a difference, and then I remind myself that I can't help them all." People always thought that he wore his heart on his sleeve, but he knew that Sara was so much like him in that way. They were both victims; both survivors and it was part of what kept them going day after day into other peoples' hell.

"Maybe we could make a difference to one." Sara knew that Nick had formed a special connection with Cassie in particular and she wondered if they shouldn't look into where she was and who she was with.

"Maybe we could." Nick wasn't outright rejecting the idea, but he wanted her to know that he wasn't about to stop trying for a baby of their own yet; they'd been married less than 24 hours and in his mind at least they had plenty of time to keep trying.

"What would you have told your family if I _had_ been pregnant?" A smile played at the corners of Sara's mouth.

"Well that was before...who says you're not pregnant _now_?" Nick sounded clearly amused. "In fact I think you should still go to the doctor just to make sure those pregnancy tests were working right."

Sara just smiled. "Maybe I will."


	33. Chapter 33

_**One Year Later:**_

In the end, Sara _wasn't_ pregnant, and it seemed that despite plenty of trying, she couldn't get pregnant either. The opinion of their doctor was that it wasn't impossible for Sara to get pregnant, just highly improbable without invitro-fertilization or fertility drugs. They briefly entertained the idea of trying some alternate form of conception, but both the cost and what it would involve for Sara put them off for the time being.

They wanted children, but they felt that looking into adoption might be a better bet. They knew firsthand that there were plenty of children lagging in the foster care system only for the fact that they lacked a permanent family to be with. Cassie McBride was one of those children, and after more paperwork than they thought imaginable, they were one court hearing away from making her part of their family.

Everything seemed to be moving ahead smoothly, when the unexpected happened. Distant relatives of the McBrides learned about Cassie's pending adoption and made a motion to adopt her themselves, which the judge granted. It wasn't that Nick and Sara didn't know this sort of thing could happen, they did; they had just felt like they'd bonded with Cassie.

Then something else happened that neither of them expected at all.

Sara missed her period.

They didn't want to get their hopes up, but neither one of them really felt like they could breathe as Nick rushed back from the store with four pregnancy tests in hand.

Sara quirked an eyebrow at him. "Four? Are you trying to tempt fate or something?" She knew that he'd picked one of every brand of pregnancy test they sold at the drug store; she was only surprised that he didn't buy two of each of them.

"No, I'm just trying to be thorough." He grinned at her. Something that he'd learned over the course of a year being married to Sara was that her periods came like clockwork and if she had missed it there were only two explanations: either she was overly stressed like she had been at their wedding, or she was pregnant. He was hoping for the latter.

"Well I hope you can wait a while...you were taking so long and I couldn't hold it anymore." Sara looked a little flustered but it was true, he _had_ taken his time at the store.

"And there isn't another way to do these?" At that moment, Nick had no patience whatsoever, he'd gotten himself emotionally worked up on the way to the store and nearly had a meltdown in the store that the thought he was going to have to wait until Sara had to go to the bathroom again.

Sara arched her brow at him and smirked. "Nick." She found it utterly adorable that he was so anxious, but she was also having a hard time knowing that it could just be a false alarm; she had been under a great deal of stress lately, what with the adoption of Cassie not going through, but she also couldn't let go of the possibility that was hanging out there just waiting to be plucked.

Nick swung into action. "Ok, so we just need to think here...what do you want to drink?" Whatever she wanted, he was going to get her, as long as it would be enough to get some sort of result, preferably positive, on that little stick.

Sara raised a glass of iced tea that she was sipping. "I'm already ahead of you." She gestured towards the barstool next to hers for him to sit down. "Why don't you get yourself something; you look like you could use it."

Nick shook his head and took a seat. "No, I'm good...I just wanted to make sure _you_ had something."

Sara took a sip and glanced over at Nick with a giggle. "You know, staring at me isn't going to make me have to go any faster." She knew that it was pointless to suggest that he go watch TV; he wanted to know if she was pregnant as much as he did.

"It might." This time he smirked at her and slipped an arm around her waist. "No matter what it says, I just want you to know that I love you." He had made a habit of telling her that he loved her so that she would never be able to doubt it; he did love her, more than he ever thought possible.

It was all of thirty minutes later when Sara emerged from the bathroom looking nervous as hell. She'd left all four strips on the counter so she wouldn't have to stare at them in the eternity it would take for them to indicate whether their lives were about to change.

Nick furrowed a brow at her. "Uh, didn't they work?"

"Three minutes." She was nibbling at her lower lip as she sank into the couch next to Nick, smiling a little as she felt him envelope her hand with his. Neither one of them wanted to breathe.

After the longest three minutes of their lives they both went into the bathroom, and at quarter past midnight on a Tuesday morning, they found out that they were having a baby.

_**The End**_

**Author's Note:** Thanks to all my readers, I appreciate you sticking with me on this one. There were times I wasn't sure I was going to finish. Life has been crazy and having a car accident in the middle of writing this didn't help, but hopefully things will settle down soon and I'll be able to get another story going...just don't expect another 'epic' for a while.


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